The Debriefing
by Joe's girl
Summary: Audrey, Diane, Jack. What more can I say? Warning: Season 5 spoilers.
1. Debriefing: Audrey

_Here's a little different offering from me. It should be three or four relatively short chapters. I'm not sure how much interest this will generate (or even how good it is) but it was just burning to be written. It was inspired by the look on Jack's face when Bill tells him that Audrey is debriefing Diane. The look was priceless and it made me wonder what all three parties might be thinking. (If this sounds a little like "The Look" by Angel's babe, I'm sorry, it is coincidental. I read that story after I had already outlined this fic and written the first chapter.) _

_BTW – none of these characters are mine, as you know. Sadly, they all belong to Fox._

_So here it is…I hope you'll read it and, if you do, please review. It only takes a second and it will make me very happy. I have no real life and I live for 24 and fanfiction reviews. Anyone that pathetic deserves a review, don't you think? _

**The Debriefing**

Day 5: 11:22am

Part I: Audrey

Audrey Raines stood next to Bill Buchanan in the CTU conference room. They were reviewing the latest report from the department of defense when Edgar Styles entered the room.

"Mr. Buchanan, I just spoke with Curtis. He said that Jack Bauer is on the way over. He should be here in about a half hour," he said in his thick Brooklyn accent. "He's also sending over a woman by the name of Diane Huxley and her son Derek."

"Who are they?" Bill asked.

"Derek is the boy that the terrorists were threatening to kill. Apparently Jack has some kind of relationship with Ms. Huxley. They need to be debriefed."

"What kind of relationship?" Edgar was more than competent, but Bill hated his habit of not giving him all of the information at once, thus forcing him to dig for the essential facts.

"Curtis wasn't sure, but he said that Jack asked him personally to take care of her." Edgar opened a file to show it to Buchanan. "So far this is what we've got. Jack was apparently living under the alias 'Frank Flynn'. He was working in the oil fields in Mojave and the address he gave the company was the same address as Diane Huxley."

"What do we know about Ms. Huxley?" Bill asked. "Does she have ties to any terrorist groups?"

"None that we know of. She's divorced and has one son. She's an assistant manager for a retailer in Mojave. She doesn't have any police record. Nothing here points to her being any part of a conspiracy. It just looks like she's Jack's girlfriend."

Audrey swallowed hard and she saw Bill's eyes flit to her face and then back to the file. Bill grimaced internally hoping that the look didn't show on his face. Anyone other than Edgar would have found some euphemism other than "girlfriend" to describe the woman with Audrey present. They would have referred to her as his "friend" or "acquaintance". Unfortunately, Edgar, like Chloe, wasn't overloaded with social graces. Bill had grown used to it but couldn't make himself like it.

"What's her ETA?"

"About ten minutes. Should I have somebody set up an interrogation room?"

"I don't think that's necessary. Let me talk to McGill as see what he thinks. I think it's reasonable to debrief her and her son in one of the small conference rooms. Set it up while I talk to Lynn. If he wants something different I'll let you know," Buchanan said.

Audrey listened to the exchange in silence. None of this was any of her business. She was here to be liaison to the DOD and she needed to make sure the lines were clearly drawn.

"Audrey, I'm sorry," Bill offered kindly. "I can't imagine how hard all of this is for you." He squeezed her arm gently, comfortingly.

"I'll be okay, Bill," Audrey answered professionally. She was dying inside but allowed Bill only to see a mask of calm.

For the last 18 months she had lived with the "fact" that Jack Bauer was dead. She had grieved for him. She had cried herself to sleep more times than she cared to count. She had hated herself for what she had said to him just before he was "killed." Now she was finding out that it was all a hoax. Part of her was thrilled that he was alive, that she could apologize to him, that she could tell him that she still loved him. The other part of her was angry that for the last 18 months she had been in such pain, sometimes barely existing, and that Jack was alive and well the whole time. Now, to know that he had been living with some woman and that he had moved on with his life while she had not been able to, that was possibly the most painful part of all.

Bill looked at his watch. "If you need me, I'll be in the situation room getting hourlys from my department heads."

"Thanks," she whispered.

They exited the room together and Bill turned right while Audrey continued on to the workstation that had been set up for her. She was lost in her own thoughts when she ran into Lynn McGill.

Lynn was a self-important little bureaucrat as far as Audrey was concerned. She had seen hundreds of his type in her years with the DOD and she loathed them. They were forever standing in the way of progress. She hated McGill from the moment she met him and it became obvious to her that he had Jack as good as charged, convicted and executed for the assassination of David Palmer and he hadn't even heard Jack's side of the story. She had to give Lynn some credit, though. If he hadn't figured out that Jack was using an old duress code, he and the assault team would be dead now. That was the only reason that she could think of to give Lynn more than the time of day as he approached her in the hallway.

Their discussion was brief. Lynn "asked" (which since he was currently in charge, was a nice way to say "ordered") her to interview Diane Huxley. Never mind that Audrey was not trained in the art of interrogation. Never mind that making her talk to the woman who Jack was now living with would cut her to the quick. Never mind that all she wanted to do was run away from this place, this nightmare and try and figure out what was happening to her. She tried to get out of it, but McGill had no intention of letting her do that. So in the end she agreed to talk to the woman who was in the process of clearing security.

Lynn walked away leaving Audrey with the file folder which held meager information on Diane Huxley. Audrey sighed, gathered her wits about her and walked toward Huxley who, along with her son was being escorted into the bullpen.

Audrey took a good long look at Diane as she approached her. She could see what Jack was attracted to. Diane Huxley was a good looking woman: pretty face, good figure, nice skin. Her hair needed to be updated but otherwise she was attractive. The jeans she was wearing were faded but she filled them out nicely. Diane's figure was curvier than her own and she suspected that Jack liked that. He had told her more than once that she was too thin. She noted that Diane's arm was protectively wrapped around her son. Jack always liked a family atmosphere. Audrey could easily see him slipping into the role of surrogate father to the boy.

Audrey tried to act normal as she introduced herself to Diane and asked the CTU guard to take Derek to medical to be checked out. She directed Diane to an upstairs office. Diane looked around CTU which was, at the moment, a beehive of activity, and casually asked if Audrey knew Jack before he disappeared.

Audrey nearly choked on the words. "Yes, I knew him." _Like in the biblical sense,_ Audrey thought as she watched Diane climb the stairs. She closed her eyes for a second to try and get a hold of her emotions then followed Diane.

Audrey sat at the desk and looked at the file folder. "You said that you and Jack lived together for six months, is that correct?" Audrey asked.

She found her mind wandering as she tried to concentrate on the interview. _Were their nights filled with the same kind of passion that she and Jack had shared? Did they watch movies in bed and then playfully act out the love scenes? Did Jack sneak in the bathroom while she was in the shower and step in with her? _

"He rented a room from me?" Diane explained.

"Did you and Jack have a personal relationship?"

"I'm not sure that's any of your business," Diane retorted. Her voice had just the slightest edge to it.

Audrey tried to explain why she was asking, but at the same time felt relief wash over her. Maybe Diane wasn't his girlfriend; maybe she was just his landlady. Maybe they weren't lovers. She would hold onto that thought, focus on that thought. Yes, Diane was simply Jack's landlady. No, Diane was not Jack's lover.

The rest of the questions she asked were basic. _Did anyone come to the house to see Jack? Did he confide in you? _No, Diane assured her. Nothing about the man she knew as Frank Flynn aroused any suspicions in her.

"Jack's a private person," Diane said. "I knew he was keeping something from me, but I didn't press him. I figured he'd tell me if he wanted to."

That answer floored Audrey. She nearly staggered under its weight. Diane trusted Jack so completely, that she didn't care who he really was. She loved what she saw and what he let her see and that was enough for her. Audrey, on the other hand, could only love Jack if he was who she wanted him to be. When he was a suit behind a desk in Washington, he was all she could ever want. When he traded in the suit for a leather CTU jacket and a bullet proof vest, he no longer fit the image of a man she could love.

Audrey was suddenly nauseous. She felt cheap and judgmental and ashamed of her behavior. She remembered breaking up with Jack. They stood in the hallway; she didn't even have the decency to talk to him in a private place. Then she told a man who had just saved an entire city, millions of lives, that she couldn't love him. The bile rose in her throat as she looked at Diane and understood what it meant to love unconditionally. Diane gave that love to Jack but she hadn't; her love came with strings attached.

Audrey's thoughts were interrupted when she saw a movement in the hallway. She didn't have to see him to know who it was. She knew it was Jack. She looked up and caught sight of his face, his handsome face. He looked thinner and older as though the last 18 months had aged him far more than the calendar would have let on. Jack looked at the two women in the office for a long moment and then started to walk away.

Now Audrey knew what it was like to see a ghost. "Would you excuse me for a moment," she stammered as Jack turned his back and walked down the hallway. She walked out of the room and called after him. Her feet felt like lead and the heat suddenly seemed oppressive.

They stood in the empty hallway, much like they had done the last time they saw one another, when Audrey had broken up with him. They stared at each other for what was probably no more than a few seconds, but it felt like hours. Jack spoke first, "I don't even know where to begin. You have to believe me that I couldn't tell you I was alive. It was for your own safety."

Audrey wanted more than anything to touch him. She wanted to make sure that he really was alive, that this wasn't just a weird dream. She wanted to touch him but was afraid. After the way she had treated him, she feared that he would push her away and that was a rejection that she didn't think she could cope with. So she kept her hands to herself as they talked. The conversation was surreal and all too soon Jack was being summonsed to meet with McGill.

Audrey had so much more that she wanted to say to Jack. Why couldn't the world just wait while they had some time alone, while they reconciled, while they took some time to sort out their feelings? Why did something always have to take Jack away from her?

Audrey did her best to compose herself knowing that she had to finish debriefing Diane. She went back toward the office where Diane sat. She was grateful that her reunion with Jack had taken place away from the office and that Diane had not been able to see them. Audrey wondered what Diane thought. She wondered if it had been obvious that she had not merely _known_ Jack in the past.

Professional mask back on, Audrey entered the office and sat down at the desk. She opened the file folder and looked at the information in front of her. Her eyes darted to the notes she had made on a yellow legal pad. None of it was making any sense at the moment. Her brain simply couldn't process all of it, or frankly, any of it. She spent well over a minute trying to figure out what to say next, finally looking up nonchalantly at Diane.

"Well, I think that will be all for now. If any other questions come up, I'll let you know. In the meantime, I'll take you down to the medical unit to be with your son."

"Thank you," Diane said quietly.

She watched as Audrey nervously pushed a strand of hair behind her eye and then opened the office door. The two walked in silence to the medical unit.

"Here you go," Audrey said as she opened the door to the medical unit. "Just tell the agent at the desk that you're Derek's mother and she'll take you to him. Thanks for your cooperation. I know you would have preferred to be in here with your son."

Diane thanked her again and then disappeared into the medical unit. Audrey waited until Diane was safely out of sight before stepping back into the hallway and leaning heavily against the door. Her strength seemed to disintegrate and she wasn't sure what was keeping her from collapsing into a heap on the floor.

It was all too much to take in at once. Audrey's phone rang and she pulled it from her pocket. "Audrey Raines," she said as calmly as possible.

"Ms. Raines, I have Phil Evans from the DOD on the line."

Audrey drew a deep breath. "Thank you. Put him through," she said stoically. She was suddenly reminded that she had a job to do, that there were terrorists to apprehend. For at least the moment, her memories of a past and wishes for a possible future with Jack had to be put on hold.


	2. Debriefing: Diane

_Thank you so much for the reviews! I actually got more reviews than I expected and they were so positive! Here is part 2 – Diane's perspective. Hope you enjoy and please don't forget to review._

**The Debriefing**

Day 5: 11:23 am

Part II: Diane

"I had no idea that Jack worked in a place like this," Diane Huxley commented as she cleared security and walked through CTU with Audrey Raines.

Diane had never seen anything like CTU. She was amazed by all of the activity going on around her. She wished that Derek hadn't been taken away from her. It made sense to have a doctor examine him, but she would have felt better if she could have stayed with him. _Damn it!_ she thought. _I should have insisted on staying with him._ The place intimidated her, the people intimidated her and part of her was simply afraid to press the issue. She wanted Jack. This was his world, not hers. She rarely depended on a man to take care of her, but right now, in this place, she wanted Jack to take care of her.

"Is Jack coming back here?" she asked not wanting her insecurity to show.

Audrey assured her that he was. That made her feel a little better as she climbed the stairs and entered a glass enclosed office. Audrey offered her coffee but she declined. Caffeine was the last thing she needed at that point. She was jittery enough without it. The thought that Derek could have been murdered at the airport sent a shiver up her spine. She couldn't imagine life without him. Derek was all that was important to her in life and as hard as it was to be a single parent, she cherished him. When she was honest with herself, she realized that she didn't have much else. Her job wasn't great, but it paid most of the bills as long as there were no surprise expenses and the spare room was rented out. Without a renter, she was short on the mortgage every month.

Generally, renting the room wasn't a problem. She knew Ned, the supervisor over at the oil rigs. When the current renter moved out, Ned would send her one of the new guys who was looking for a place to stay. He tried to send only the nice ones to her, but that didn't always work out as planned. She had had a series of men living in the room over the years. Some had been okay. They paid their rent on time and kept to themselves. More often than not the guys thought rent should include more than just a room and dinner every night. She spent more time than she cared to remember fending off unwanted advances. Early on she had allowed herself to become involved with a couple of the nicer ones. At that point she was barely 20 and newly divorced with a toddler. Her ex-husband never kept a job long enough to pay any child support, so she was always flat broke. She thought her only way out of the rut she was in was running headlong into another marriage. The men weren't always the best, but at least they seemed to offer some stability and an income. None of the relationships worked out and, over time, Diane found a job and became more and more self-sufficient. More recently she had tried to keep significant distance between herself and her renters. The room and attached bathroom had a separate entrance so they had no need to come into the house. She had stopped letting any renters eat dinner in the kitchen and required them to pick up their dinner at the kitchen door, eat it in their room and return the dishes later.

That was how it was when Frank Flynn moved in. She approached him with the same wary eye that she did all new renters but knew immediately that he was different than the others. He was nicer and more refined. His speech pattern suggested to her that he was educated beyond high school and she noticed that he frequently came home with a stack of books from the local library. As hard as Diane tried not to notice him, she couldn't help herself. He was quiet. He never came home drunk and didn't cause any problems. If he saw her carrying something heavy, he took it from her. When she was on a ladder trying to fix a window one day, he helped her down and proceeded to make the repairs. She thanked him and offered to give him a break on the next month's rent, but he declined. It was a little thing, he said. He liked helping around the house.

Jack had been renting for a little over a month when late one afternoon, he stopped by the kitchen door to pick up his dinner. Diane and Derek were in the middle of an argument when she opened the door. He could tell by the red that had risen in her cheeks that she was more than a little angry.

"Derek, your algebra teacher called me again today. You haven't handed in any homework in the last two weeks. I made a deal with her; if you finish it and hand it in by the end of the week, she'll only reduce the grade by one letter. If you don't, you'll fail algebra this quarter."

"If I could do the homework I would have, Mom. The teacher stinks. She doesn't teach us anything and then expects us to figure it out ourselves. I have no idea how to do the work. Besides, I don't need algebra to work on an oil rig. In three years I'll be out of school and I'll get a job and no one will care what my algebra grade was."

Diane absently handed the dinner tray to Jack and turned to continue the argument.

He thanked her for it intending to let mother and son argue without his intervention and then thought better of it. "I was always pretty good with math," he said. "Maybe I could give you some help after dinner."

"Oh, Frank, would you?" Diane replied gratefully. "That would be wonderful. Wouldn't that be great, Derek?"

"Oh, yeah," Derek said sarcastically. "I'm sure you're a math whiz. That's why you work on an oil rig and rent a room from us. I guess there aren't any better jobs out there for math majors there days." The boy had already become wary of their new tenant. He seemed so secretive. His mother called it "private", but Derek thought it more likely that he was hiding some dark secret.

"Derek!" Diane said sharply.

"It's okay, Diane," Jack said softly. "You can believe what you want, Derek, but I _am_ good in math. I'd like it if you'd give me a chance to help you."

"Derek, please," his mother implored, "give Frank a chance. He might be able to help."

"Alright," Derek said with a defeated tone to his voice.

"Great," Diane said with a relieved sigh. "Listen, Frank, why don't you just eat here with us tonight. That way you and Derek can get started right after dinner."

Jack shook his head. "Thanks, but I don't think that's a good idea. Dinner is family time. You and Derek should share that time."

Diane laughed, "I don't think Derek and I are going to share any meaningful conversation tonight. Please, stay."

Jack smiled and looked at the floor as he turned and walked back into the kitchen and set the tray down on the table. "Thank you," he whispered.

"Derek, wash your hands and we can eat dinner," Diane directed him.

Derek eyed Jack cautiously. "I'm not very hungry. I'll just be in my room. Call me when you're ready to start on the homework." The teenager turned and sulked up the stairs. He hated renters. He hated it that the only way his mother could make ends meet was to rent out that spare room. The renters were always jerks who just wanted to get in his mother's pants. This guy was leaving his mother alone but there was just something weird about him.

"Diane, I didn't mean to spoil your dinner with your son," Jack said apologetically. "I just thought I could help."

"Dinner was spoiled from the minute the argument started," Diane said with a wry smile. "It's been this way ever since he started high school. We fight about everything. I guess he's just trying to show me that he's independent. I guess it's part of growing up. It doesn't help that he doesn't have a father around."

The two chatted quietly through dinner. Mostly, Jack listened while Diane talked about how hard it was to be a single parent and how her alcoholic ex-husband had nothing to do with his son. It wasn't until they finished and stood up to clear the table that Diane realized that she had just talked about herself for the last forty-five minutes.

"I'm sorry," she said shaking her head. "I didn't mean to go on like that. I guess you're sick of hearing my sob story."

"Not at all," Jack assured her. "There's not much I can do to help, but I don't mind listening." The two stared at each other for a long moment. Jack spoke and broke the spell. "Why don't you call Derek and I'll help him with his homework."

Diane cleaned up the kitchen while Derek and her new renter worked on algebra. She was impressed at how well Frank worked with Derek. He was patient and offered encouragement. He ignored Derek's teenage testiness and attitude as they worked through the problems. She tried not to stare, but the scene was so father-son, one that she had hoped Derek would share with his biological father.

Two and a half hours after they started, a week's worth of algebra homework was done and Derek was doing most of it on his own. Diane went to bed that night torn by her feelings for this man. His actions tonight had proved to her that he wasn't an ordinary oil rig worker. He was too well educated. Why was he so secretive? What was he running from?

She found herself trying to explain and justify his behavior. He could be a criminal running from the law. That seemed wrong. He just seemed too nice and too kind to be a criminal. Or maybe he was an author who was trying to experience life on an oil rig as research for a book. _It seems a little far fetched, but it's a nice fantasy,_ she thought as she slipped between the well worn sheets that covered her bed. He might be a struggling author about to write his first best seller. She lay awake in bed imagining that he wrote her into the story and then dedicated the novel to her. Eventually he would come back and admit his undying love for her and take her away from this hell hole. They would have a nice house and Derek could go to a good school. She wouldn't have to work at Wal-Mart any more. Even in her own mind she knew that this was a ridiculous fantasy, but it was fun to dream.

Their relationship progressed, which is to say that much to Derek's dismay, Jack started eating dinner in the kitchen on a daily basis and he continued to help Derek with homework. He also started helping out around the house. Diane loved having him around even if she frequently found herself defending him to Derek. Slowly he began spending more time with Diane. They would watch movies together in the evening or sit and talk while waiting up for Derek to get home from a friend's house. It was one of those evenings while Derek was out that they kissed for the first time. They usually watched comedies or action flicks but that night they watched a drama that had just been nominated for an Academy Award. The sentimental story line got to Diane and tears brimmed along her lower lids and eyelashes for a long time before they got heavy enough to fall. She tried to wipe them away discreetly, but Jack noticed immediately and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. _How romantic is that? What guy carries a handkerchief these days? _She was about to take it from him, when he unexpectedly reached over and dabbed the tears from her face. The next thing Diane knew, he was stroking her face gently and leaned forward to kiss her. The kisses were shy and friendly at first but it didn't take them long to deepen. They both enjoyed the long, slow kisses, but with Derek coming home at any minute, they didn't allow it to progress any further.

Diane knew when she went to bed that night that she was falling in love. How could she help but love this man. He was easily the most handsome, articulate, polite, sexy-as-hell hunk of a man she had every known. Until that night when they kissed, he had never touched her before. Diane had begun to wonder why Frank, unlike virtually every renter she had ever had, never made a pass at her. Her fear was that he was gay. That was depressing. He was the best guy who had ever walked into her life and he was probably gay. _That figures, doesn't it?_ _Finally somebody good lands in my lap, and the son of a bitch is gay. _That night had been a pleasant surprise. Not only was he not gay, he had the sense not to push her for sex when her teenage son was due home. The word "gentleman" described him to a T.

Derek didn't bother to hide his displeasure that Frank was worming his way into Diane's heart and into their family. He worried about his mother and didn't want her getting hurt. He also hated that people thought that just because she rented rooms to oil rig workers that she slept with them, too. Derek knew differently. His mother kept her distance from the renters. He had seen her push away unwanted touches more than once. He had already decided that he was old enough now to defend her and the next time one of those jerks laid a finger on her he was going to deck the bastard. Now here she was actually falling for one of those losers. He couldn't punch Frank when he put his hand on top of hers and squeezed it, because she liked it. Derek lay awake at night listening for telltale sounds that Frank had moved into his mother's bed but try as he might, he never heard anything. Despite their growing love, the couple had decided that in order to set a good example for Derek that their relationship would not become intimate.

Audrey closed the door to the office; a signal to Diane that she needed to come back to reality. She sat down on the sofa in the glass walled office while Audrey sat down behind the desk and opened a file folder. Diane couldn't imagine what kind of questions they wanted to ask her. She didn't know anything. She didn't even know that Frank's real name was Jack Bauer until a couple of hours earlier. She got the sense, however, that Jack might be in some trouble with the government, even though he managed to save the lives of everyone at the airport. She definitely wanted to make sure that anything she said about him to Audrey was positive. Regardless of what they wanted to charge him with, she wasn't going to give them anything to fuel the fire.

Audrey put on her glasses. It made her look older, more confident and in charge. "You said that Jack 'lived with you' for the last six months. Is that correct?" Audrey asked.

Diane knew where this was going. _Oh, yeah, bitch,_ she thought, _you think I'm some kind of slut that sleeps with every guy that comes into town. _"He rented a room."

Audrey squinted slightly looking confused, "You don't have a personal relationship with Jack?"

"I'm not sure that's any of your business," Diane replied as nicely as she could. She was out of her element here and she didn't want to say anything to piss off the government. Rumor had it that they could make you disappear if they wanted to. But by the same token she wasn't going to let this woman make her look like the town harlot either. So she forced down her ire a bit and explained that Jack or Frank or whoever he was had been good to her and to her son and that she cared about him. Audrey seemed surprised by that; she didn't seem to know what to say next. As if Diane had caught her off guard.

When Audrey recovered, the rest of her questions were more mundane and Diane told them what she knew, which was nothing.

Diane was looking up at Audrey when the woman's eyes moved toward some movement in the hallway. She stopped speaking as if the words suddenly got stuck. Diane turned to see what Audrey was looking at and caught sight of Jack. She looked again at Audrey who remained stock still, dumbstruck.

"Will you excuse me for a minute?" she asked.

"Yeah," Diane said softly not sure if Audrey heard or even cared what her answer was.

Diane closed her eyes. Jack had walked down the hall and Audrey had followed him so she couldn't see what was happening between them. In reality, she didn't have to see. She knew from the looks on both of their faces that they more than _knew_ each other. They had been lovers. They still loved each other. It was obvious.

_Damn it! I thought I finally had someone who really loved me and loved Derek and wanted to be part of our lives. I thought we could be a family. _Asshe watched Audrey follow Jack, a feeling of inadequacy fell over her like a pall. _Look at her. How could he ever love me after seeing her again? How can I compete with that? _

Diane sighed heavily and tears filled her eyes. She thought about Audrey's finely chiseled features with just the perfect touch of makeup and her soft blond hair. She ran her fingers through her own coarse, wavy auburn mop and looked down at the blue jeans and tee shirt that she was wearing. The suit Audrey was wearing probably cost more than Diane made in two weeks. Audrey was beautiful and educated and had a career; everything that Jack Bauer could want. She had barely finished high school and was the assistant manager of the girls' department in the local WalMart. Not exactly a career. For years she had been taking college courses as the local community college. Her dream was to get a degree in education. She had done well in school and wanted to be a teacher for as long as she could remember. At the moment community college seemed so lame compared to the kind of exclusive private university that she assumed Audrey had gone to. Right now her whole life seemed worthless and lame. She wondered what Jack and Audrey were saying to each other. Was he holding her in his arms and kissing her?

_I'm so stupid!_ She chided herself. What ever made me think that Jack would still care for me once he was back here among his equals? Frank Flynn may have been an oil worker who loved Diane Huxley but Jack Bauer belonged at CTU and he loved Audrey Raines.


	3. Debriefing: Jack

_Hi and thanks again for the reviews. I'm really pleased with the response. Here's part 3. Now it's Jack's turn._

**The Debriefing**

Day 5: 11:28am

Part III: Jack

All eyes were on Jack Bauer as he walked into CTU. He knew that it was a natural reaction; it wasn't every day that a dead man strolled through the building. The last time he had that many eyes on him as he walked through the bullpen was the night that Teri was murdered. That time the eyes were filled with sadness and some tears and Jack had been in shock and far too grief stricken to notice or concern himself with the stares. This time was different. The eyes were filled with utter amazement and it made him self conscious.

Jack made his way through all of the stares, stopped to talk to Chloe for a moment and finally was led into a conference room where he met Lynn McGill. He knew that he shouldn't pass judgment so quickly, but McGill reminded him of virtually every stuffed shirt that they ever sent over from Division. He was less condescending than Ryan Chappelle but far more solicitous and Jack found that, in a way, even more annoying. McGill did tell him that he was no longer a suspect in David Palmer's assassination and gave him a low level security clearance, but he still didn't like or trust him completely.

McGill left and Jack was alone with Bill Buchanan. Jack was happy to see that Bill was now the Special Agent in Charge at CTU. He had only worked with Buchanan for a short time prior to his disappearance, but in that time he had grown to respect him. He had a quick, analytical mind and he knew the regulations by heart, but he wasn't afraid to break them or at least bend them sharply when necessary. And, despite all that had happened to him because of CTU, deep down Jack still loved the place and the work that went on there. He was glad to see it in Buchanan's capable hands. He suspected though that Buchanan and McGill were probably butting heads. Their styles were too disparate for them to work well together.

The two exchanged brief conversation before Bill took a short breath and dropped the bombshell on Jack. "Jack, Audrey's been working for us," he said.

"Audrey's here, in the building?" Jack responded. He squinted as if not understanding the simple statement that Bill had just made. "Where is she?"

"She's debriefing Diane Huxley."

"Why is she talking to Diane?"

"Because Lynn asked her to," Bill replied simply with a slight shrug. He felt like it was a lame answer, but it was the truth and the best he could do at the moment.

Jack wondered what else could possibly happen today. Right now his current and former girlfriends were in the same room together. Diane was at a distinct disadvantage and that bothered Jack. First of all, Audrey was on her own territory. Nothing in Diane's background could have prepared her for today or for CTU. Secondly, Diane knew nothing of his relationship with Audrey, while Audrey was pretty likely to put two and two together and realize that Diane was more to him than just his landlady. He hated that Audrey would have the upper hand. He doubted that she would use it to her advantage; that wasn't her style, but he still didn't like seeing Diane put in that situation.

When Jack thought about Audrey and Diane, he couldn't imagine two more opposite people. Audrey came from old money and all of the trappings that went with it: the education and the manners and the way of dressing and speaking. She was single-mindedly focused on her career. Each position that she took was a stepping stone to the next. Diane, on the other hand, had been living from hand to mouth for her entire life. Her parents had lived that way and she had not been able to break the cycle. Pregnant by the time she graduated from high school, she was intelligent but never had the chance to get an education or rise above the only way of life she had ever known.

Jack's relationship with the two women was yet another study in contrast. His relationship with Audrey was hot and intense and physical. When he first started working for Jim Heller, Audrey was still living with her husband, although if the office rumor mill was to be believed, Audrey and Paul were "having problems."

Jack generally tried to stay out of the office gossip, having been the subject of it more than once at CTU, but the spy in him was not averse to taking in whatever was said within his earshot. Audrey and Paul, whom Jack hadn't met at the time, were apparently cut from similar molds, or so the coffee pot talk said. They were both rich kids who were Ivy League educated. They came out of graduate school with goals to reach the pinnacles of their chosen professions and planned to let nothing stop them. Paul and Audrey loved each other, but marriage was more of a convenience than anything else. They made a beautiful couple at cocktail parties and each liked having the other at such events. They were both workaholics who could be in their office by 7 o'clock in the morning and still there at 10 o'clock that night. They saw little of each other and both traveled extensively for their jobs. Eight years of it had taken a toll on both of them. Paul's businesses were becoming more and more successful and he wanted to settle down and play the part of company CEO and president with a wife who was home to host dinner parties and jet around the world with him. And he made it clear that that was what he expected Audrey to do. Audrey had just taken on the role as Senior Policy Analyst for her father and being the good wife who spent her day trying to decide between watercress and cucumber sandwiches for the next client luncheon that Paul had planned was simply not her cup of tea and she had no intention of doing it. She was far more interested in traveling around the country and the world with her father to promote US defense policy. Her office was adorned with pictures of herself on the deck of a carrier surrounded by Navy pilots or in Germany with that country's senior defense officers, in London with the Prime Minister of England.

Little by little the marriage drifted and the two distanced themselves until one Monday morning about three months after Jack started working for the Secretary of Defense when he heard that Audrey had separated from her husband. He noted when they sat together in a meeting later that day, that she no longer sported a wedding ring or the huge diamond engagement ring that she had always worn. Audrey's separation didn't change Jack's relationship with her. The worked well together but that was it. At the end of every very long day, the two said good night to each other as they did to their co-workers and went their separate ways.

It was about 9:30 one Friday evening when Audrey walked past Jack's office door. Everyone else had gone home by then and the two of them were alone in the office suite.

"It's late Jack," Audrey told him. "Time to go home." She had her bag over her shoulder and her keys in her hand.

Jack looked up and smiled at her. Although they were co-workers, her good looks and kind personality hadn't been lost on him. "I'll be leaving in a few minutes," he said as he surveyed her fine, straight nose and her high cheek bones. "Have a good weekend. I'll see you Monday."

Audrey returned the smile and waved good night as she continued out to the parking garage. Jack looked at his watch and sighed. Audrey was right. It was late and it was time to go home. He had a few more things to work on, but he could do that at home over the weekend.

Jack was on his way to the far end of the garage where his car sat all alone, when he caught sight of Audrey's car still sitting near the elevator. She tried repeatedly to turn the engine over but the battery was clearly dead. He watched her as she let her head thump back onto the headrest quite obviously exasperated that she had to deal with this late on a Friday evening when all she really wanted to do was to go home. Jack called her name and rapped lightly on the driver's side window knowing that he was going to startle her and not really wanting to.

As expected Audrey jumped as his knuckles hit the glass but smiled when she saw Jack's face. She opened the door and stepped out. "Dead battery," she said stating the obvious. "I guess I have to call my auto club."

"Listen, why don't you just leave the car here and deal with it in the morning. I can take you home," Jack offered.

"That's too much trouble. I don't live anywhere near you, but thanks for the offer," Audrey declined.

"Audrey, this is silly. It's Friday night. You're going to wait a couple of hours for a tow. Don't worry about the distance. Let me take you home and then you can have someone look at the car in the morning." He could see her taking his offer seriously. It was late and the parking garage was creepy at this time of night. Waiting for the tow truck and then for a cab to finally take her home didn't seem like much fun.

"Thanks, Jack. I'd really appreciate it," Audrey said finally accepting his offer. She grabbed her bag and locked the car, then followed Jack toward his car. "Did you have any dinner?"

"No. How about you?"

"Nothing. I'm starved. There's a nice diner near my house, kind of a retro place. They make great breakfast food. Why don't we stop there? My treat."

Jack started to shake his head and say "no", but Audrey interrupted. "It's my way of thanking you for driving all the way out to Georgetown when I know all you want is to go home."

Jack smiled. "Okay. Deal."

They got into the car and Jack pulled out of the garage and onto the street. The two chatted quietly about the day's events and other work related issues and in a half hour Jack pulled into the parking lot of the diner that Audrey had directed him to. Once inside, work conversation ceased. Much of what they did was classified and they knew better than to talk about it in public. They both knew that work was the only thing they had in common and any remaining conversation was likely to be stiff and awkward.

A hostess, dressed in typical 1950s diner uniform to match the retro theme of the restaurant, led them to a booth near the window and handed them menus. With little to say to each other, they both busied themselves by pretending to be overly interested in the menu.

"So, what's good?" Jack asked.

"The omelets are great, so are the pancakes," Audrey answered as if she was writing a review of the place for the Washington Post.

They continued to mull over the menu and chatted for a moment with the waitress. They gave her their orders and she brought them both coffee. It wasn't until the food arrived that Jack and Audrey started to feel a little more comfortable. The conversation was superficial at first. Audrey asked Jack about where he grew up and went to school and he did the same. By the end of the meal they were laughing and joking about co-workers idiosyncrasies and dysfunctional families.

Neither of them noticed the time as they drank coffee and topped of the late night breakfast with fresh peach pie. The diner, which was largely deserted when they arrived, was beginning to fill up with the revelers who had stayed for "last call" at the Georgetown bars.

Jack looked at his watch. "It's 2:30. I think I better take you home," he said as the decibel level in the diner began to rise.

"Two-thirty!" Audrey exclaimed looking at her own watch. "I had no idea. I hope you don't have to be anywhere tomorrow morning. You still have a long drive home."

"Don't worry about it. I can sleep in," he said as he held the door open for her and they exited the diner into the humid Washington night.

Audrey's brownstone was less than a mile away but despite its nearness to the restaurants and bars, it was set on a side street rather off the beaten path. She gave Jack directions: a left at the bottom of the hill, then another left at the first stop sign, two more blocks, a right and her house was the third one on the left.

"Thanks so much for the ride, Jack. I really appreciate it," she told him as he helped her out of the car.

"Thanks for dinner," he said with a smile. "I had a good time."

Jack walked Audrey to the door and waited while she opened it and stepped into the foyer. He was about to say good night and that he would see her Monday when Audrey put her hand on his arm.

"Ah, I don't want this to sound forward, but would you like to come in for a nightcap?"

Jack thought for a moment. That was a loaded question and he knew it. It was late and they were both tired. They were also both lonely. The subject had come up in no-so-many-words during their dinner conversation. As much as Audrey was tired of fighting with Paul, she also hated being alone. Jack admitted that he missed his daughter and his friends and all that was familiar to him in Los Angeles. He needed to start over and he knew it but in the last few months he had felt very alone.

Jack looked down for a moment before bringing his eyes up to meet Audrey's. "If I come in for nightcap, there's a distinct possibility that it won't end with the drink," he stated matter of factly.

"I know," Audrey whispered in return.

"Is that a bridge that you want to cross?"

"Would it be so bad if we did?"

"It would change everything."

"I know. I'm prepared for that."

Jack stood on the porch looking at Audrey, pondering the possibilities. The thought of going home to an empty apartment and an empty bed for what seemed like the millionth night in a row was less than appealing. In fact, it was down right depressing. Despite that, his brain was telling him to get the hell out. He had slept with a coworker before and he knew how hard it was to separate the personal from the professional selves. In this case it was far worse: the coworker in question was the boss' daughter. Parts far south of his brain were telling him now nice it would be to find themselves cavorting with opposing parts of the beautiful creature standing before him. He hadn't been with a woman since he had had sex with Claudia in Mexico nearly a year earlier. It was a mindless affair but it had been exciting. Had Hector found out he would have killed them both. The risk of the illicit union was exciting and Jack had been turned on beyond belief. Thinking back, he was pretty sure that he enjoyed the risk and excitement far more than he really cared for the girl.

Jack said nothing as he took a tentative step into Audrey's house and slowly closed the door behind him. The previously offered drink was instantly forgotten as the two moved closer together. Jack reached out nervously and touched Audrey's face. He pushed a few stray strands of hair behind her ear and then leaned in for a kiss. Audrey's lips were parted and without another thought, Jack pushed his tongue into her mouth.

Audrey groaned as she played with his tongue; sucking on it and leaving him to wonder what it would feel like to have her do that to other parts of his body. As hard as he tried, Jack couldn't remember what happened next. All he knew was that Audrey wasn't shy. By the time they reached the stairs that led to her bedroom, they were both naked from the waist up. Jack could see his jacket and shirt lying on the floor, but for the life of him didn't know how they had gotten there. They stood at the foot of the stairs kissing wildly. Jack was dizzy with excitement and so aroused that he didn't know if he could make it all the way upstairs and into Audrey's bed without deeply trapped bodily fluids exploding from tight confines and making a forceful exit.

He may have forgotten how they got to the stairs, but he would never forget what happened next. Never the shy, retiring virgin, Audrey reached for Jack's belt buckle and began to open it. Less than a minute later, his pants and boxer shorts were around his knees, Audrey was sitting on the steps and he was in her mouth. Jack's knees nearly buckled and he grasped the wall on his left and the stair rail on his right for support.

"Audrey, I can't hold out," he gasped. Audrey increased the speed and pressure. Sweat beaded up along his forehead and upper lip. "God…it's so good," he panted. It had been so long since he had felt the sensation that he knew that he would succumb way too soon but there was no way to prevent it.

Jack nearly collapsed on top of Audrey as he gathered her into his arms and began kissing her. She pushed herself up a couple of steps effectively leaving his face at the level of her breasts. Jack attacked them with a fury, kissing and fondling and sucking as if starving for the taste of her skin.

A few minutes passed before Audrey once again pushed herself up a couple more steps. Again Jack was a foot-and-a-half below her and her desires quite evident to him. Her skirt was now around her waist. Jack left it where it was and pulled down her stockings and panties. She lay back on the stairs while Jack returned her of a few minutes earlier. Now she was the one gasping and panting and begging him for more.

At some point they pulled themselves from the stairs and into her bed where Audrey took Jack on a guided tour of her body. Like any good tour guide, she showed him all of the hot spots. Once that was accomplished, she initiated her own self-guided tour of his body to seek out his hot spots and try them out for herself.

Jack had never been with a woman who was so in control before. She was in charge of their lovemaking and he knew better than to challenge her. Frankly, he had no reason to challenge her. He loved what she was doing. He had never been this excited before or had as many orgasms in a single night. Audrey took him to a level of excitement that he had never known existed. He was perfectly satisfied to have Audrey be in charge and by the next day at noon, the two were finally asleep in an exhausted heap lying the wrong way across the bed.

The rest of their relationship was basically more of the same. Audrey wanted to keep it from her father so they rarely went out, nor did they acknowledge each other any more than necessary at work. The secrecy of the affair made it exciting for a while, but Jack eventually grew tired of parking blocks from her house and limiting their outings to an occasional movie in an out of the way theater where they would be unlikely to meet anyone that they knew.

On the other hand, the sex was great. It was easily the best sex he had ever had in his life. When they weren't having sex, they enjoyed each other's company. They liked the same books and movies. Audrey wasn't much of a sports fan, but she would watch a little baseball or football with Jack. All in all, he was enjoying himself and it felt as much like love as any other relationship he had ever been in.

Even now as he thought back, he had to suppress the stirring that memories of Audrey evoked. He wanted to see her, to touch her again. But the relationship had ended and it had ended badly. She hated him for who he really was and for the decisions he had to make. That hurt more than he would have ever imagined but deep down he was sure he still loved her.

Jack's relationship with Diane was so diametrically opposed to that with Audrey that he couldn't name a single similarity. Instead of carrying on a furtive, highly sexual affair, he and Diane had a warm, slowly smoldering love for one another. It wasn't as exciting as his affair with Audrey, but, he had to admit, it was far more comfortable. They had never made love, but they weren't sneaking around either. They shared meals and quiet time together just talking. When they walked down the street together, their hands were entwined. When they went to Derek's recreation league baseball games, they sat on the bleachers together and shared popcorn. In truth, Jack knew more about Diane, how she felt and what she thought, than he had ever known about Audrey.

Thoughts of Diane brought stirrings similar to those that occurred when he thought of Audrey. The difference was that he didn't have to imagine what it was like to be with Audrey. He had first hand knowledge of that. With Diane, he got to imagine and idealize. He imagined how soft and warm her body would be against a set of satin sheets. He knew that she had never slept on satin sheets in her life and he wanted to do that for her more than anything in the world. He imagined holding her and caressing her and showing her what it was like to really be loved. Their discussions regarding her ex-husband and previous lovers, although not specific, had given him the impression that they were interested only in their own satisfaction and had no idea how to treat a woman.

Jack squeezed his eyes shut, trying to put thoughts of both women out of his mind. He loved them both but in different ways. He wasn't sure that he loved one more than the other. But what he did know, was that he would not get to be with either of them. Yes, he had come out of hiding today. He had done that to find the man who killed David Palmer. That mission was accomplished. Now he wanted to clear his own name. Once that was complete, he was destined to return to the shadowy life that he had been living for the past 18 months. He would assume someone else's identity and move on. Where would he go? Maybe east this time. He liked the east coast when he lived in Washington DC, but thought he would go further north, like Massachusetts or Rhode Island. The idea of working on a fishing boat had crossed his mind more than once. That would keep him out at sea for months at a time and make him even more invisible than he had been when he was bumming around Chicago or working on the oil rig. He was hoping that he could enlist Bill's help getting an identity and transportation but given the fact that everyone who had helped him in the past had been targeted and some were now dead, he would make sure that Bill understood that he was free to decline and there would be no hard feelings. Jack Bauer had made his way in life in the past and could do so again. But before any of that could happen, Jack had the painful task of saying goodbye to both of his loves.

_Although this completes the perspectives of the debriefing by the three principals, it felt very incomplete to me to let the story end here. I have outlined an epilogue to the story that takes place the next day. As it stands now, each character will have a chapter in the epilogue, however since it's not written yet, I'm not sure if that will play out exactly the way I am seeing it right now. Hope you'll stay with me for the continuation._


	4. Epilogue: Jack

_Hi and thanks again for the reviews! I think this chapter, or at least its title requires a bit of an explanation. I called it the epilogue, but it will really be in 3 parts just like the debriefing was. Each of the three principals will have his/her own chapter. This one is from Jack's perspective. Audrey's and Diane's perspectives are to follow. Hopes that makes more sense. _

**The Debriefing: Epilogue**

**The next day **

10:37am

Jack

Jack relaxed against the pillow on his bed in the CTU medical unit. It wasn't the most comfortable bed he had ever slept in, but at the moment he was so exhausted that it didn't matter. The sheets smelled faintly of bleach just like those at his grandmother's house when he was a little boy. He thought about the fun he had at her house as he dozed peacefully, more peacefully than he had in a long time.

Jack shifted positions and winced slightly. He was sore from head to toe. Muscles that he didn't even know he had suddenly seemed to hurt. Yet, he knew that he was lucky. Other than the two broken ribs courtesy of the hit man that tried to kill him in the medical unit early in the day, he also had a graze wound to his thigh and an injured knee. Right now he was waiting for the orthopedic surgeon to look at the x-rays and decide how much damage he had done to the knee. He had been warned that he may have torn the ACL and that would require major surgery. As painful and swollen as it was right now, he was expecting the worst.

Yesterday was finally over. It had been yet another in a series of long days that he had put in at CTU over the years. When he thought back over those very worst of days, he knew that the previous day ranked right up there among them. It could have been disastrous. The casualty count could have been a lot higher. The losses at CTU could have been even more devastating. But in the end, they had been able to stop the terrorists from achieving their ultimate goal and had limited the damage in the process.

As a result, Jack Bauer was quite literally a different person than he had been when he woke up the day before. He had saved so many people, he had shown such heroism, that President Logan agreed to take responsibility for what happened at the Chinese embassy 18 months earlier. Jack Bauer was no longer wanted by the Chinese government. Oh, there would be hell to pay and Logan would deal with the repercussions, but at least Jack was off the hook. Frank Flynn no longer existed and Jack Bauer had his life back.

He had something else back, too. Something else far more important to him than his life: his daughter. His first encounter with Kim had been much worse than he had imagined. In the 18 months that he lived in hiding, in fear of being discovered, his mind would often wander and find its way to Kim. He would day dream about seeing her again and her reaction to his being alive. His mind had conjured up dozens of different scenarios of how the moment would play out. In some she was angry with him. In others, she threw her arms around him and thanked God for the chance to see him again. Even in the ones where she was angry with him, she always came around in a few minutes and was soon in his arms. Not in any one of them did she refuse to even touch him as she had done the previous afternoon. Not in any of them did she tell him to leave her alone. The pain her reaction caused him was worse than any physical injury he could have ever sustained. It cut through him deeper than any bullet or knife or bullet could possibly go. As if it all wasn't bad enough, in the middle of his trying to explain the situation to her, Audrey called him away. Kim was the most important person in his life and he was pulled from her once again to serve his country; a country that had basically deserted him after years of service. He walked away from his daughter to attend to some other crisis. A situation that someone else deemed important, because it certainly wasn't important to him at this moment. What did he care if hundreds of thousands of people died in a nerve gas attack? None of it mattered if his daughter no longer loved him.

Jack wasn't sure what happened over the course of the next 12 hours, but by the time the crisis was over and the terrorists were either dead or in custody, Kim had had a change of heart. When his helicopter landed at CTU, Jack could see her standing on the tarmac. As he was helped out of the chopper by two other agents, Kim ran to him to see how badly he was hurt.

"Oh my God!" she gasped as she saw the pained expression on his face. "Are you going to be okay? Daddy, please tell me you're going to be okay," she cried.

Jack finally put his arms around his daughter. No physical contact ever felt better to him in his entire life. The simple act of hugging his child healed all of the wounds and the pain of the previous 18 months.

"I'm going to be fine, Baby," he whispered soothingly. "It looks worse than it is."

It suddenly occurred to him how really bad he must look to her. The wound to his thigh, although nothing more than a deep graze, had bled badly. His jeans were blood soaked from mid-thigh to knee. His other pants leg was torn from a fall he had taken in which he had severely twisted his knee. The skin exposed below the torn pants was already bruising a dark purple.

Kim stayed close by, leaving his side only when the doctor was examining him and cleaning up and stitching the bullet wound on his leg. She stood outside of the radiology room while he was having his ribs and knee x-rayed. For the rest of the time she sat or stood next to his bed holding his hand and leaning in more than once for another hug. Jack kissed her and reassured her that he would never do anything like this to her again.

Kim was so tired from the long night at CTU that she was nearly falling asleep sitting in the chair next to him. Jack finally convinced her to have someone from CTU drive her home so she could get some rest. He would keep in touch with her and as soon as the doctor discharged him, which would depend on the x-ray results and the extent of his injuries, he would have someone bring him to her house. Kim agreed reluctantly and kissed him goodbye. Jack was left alone with his thoughts and they swirled through his sleepy brain. He had a lot of decisions to make and although he didn't have to make any of them this minute, that didn't stop them from being in the forefront of his mind. A knock on the door saved Jack from more of his own thoughts.

"Come in," Jack called.

Bill Buchanan opened the door about a foot and leaned in. "Do you feel like having a visitor, or would you rather just get some rest."

Jack sat up a little straighter in the bed, again wincing as he changed positions. "Come in. I'd love to sleep, but I can't. My mind is going a thousand miles an hour after all the happened yesterday."

"I know the feeling," Bill said wryly. At some point during the night he had taken off his jacket and tie and opened the top button on his shirt. It was probably the most relaxed he had ever seen Bill. Come to think about it, until now, he had only ever seen Bill in crisis mode. "How long do the doctors plan on keeping you here?"

"They're waiting on x-rays. If I tore my ACL, they're going to transfer me to Good Samaritan for surgery tomorrow. If not, I'll probably leave later today."

"Where are you going from here?"

"To my daughter's house," Jack said with a smile.

Bill smiled in return. He was happy to see that the two had reconciled. "I'm sure the last thing you want to think about right now is a job, but if you're willing to listen, I have an offer for you."

"A job?" Jack said quizzically.

"Yeah, McGill was relieved of his command for not reporting the stolen key card. They need someone to replace him down at Division and I was asked to take the position."

"Congratulations," Jack said. That was a significant promotion for Bill whose occasional run-ins with his superiors hadn't always endeared him to them.

Bill thanked him and went on. "That leaves a void here. I told the District Director that I would take the position at Division if you would replace me as Special Agent in Charge here at CTU."

Jack squinted slightly as if trying to focus on Bill. "You want me to be the new CTU director?"

"Why not? You've done it before and you certainly know what it takes to run the place. My position at Division would make me your direct supervisor and we work well together. I think it's a great fit."

Jack shook his head. "I don't know, Bill. I'm flattered that you would ask, but I don't know. I'd like to come back to CTU; I'm just not sure that I want to be director."

"Think it over, Jack. I don't need an answer right now." Bill looked at his watch. "I should be going. Call me later this week and we'll talk." The two shook hands and Bill started to walk out the door.

"Bill, wait," Jack called after him.

Bill smiled before he turned around assuming that Jack had taken all the time he needed to think the idea over. He didn't know Jack all that well, but from what he did know, he could tell that Jack enjoyed the time he spent as CTU director.

"I've got a better idea. Why don't you make me Director of Field Operations?"

Now it was Bill's turn to look confused. "I already have a Director of Field Ops. That's Curtis' job."

"Not if you make Curtis the Special Agent in Charge. Curtis would be great in the position. He's put in a lot of years. He has good judgment and all the skills to make him a good director. He deserves it a lot more than I do," Jack said. He looked down for a moment seeming to study his hands. "Besides, the CTU director puts in a lot of hours. I've already done that. Now I want to spend some time with my family and I want to take some time for myself. I neglected that for too many years."

Bill nodded. "I agree. Curtis would make a good director. Let me talk to him and get back to you."

Bill left and Jack relaxed back on the pillow with his thoughts. Things were already beginning to fall into place. Returning to CTU had not really crossed his mind, but now that Bill had offered, it seemed only natural that he could come back and start over there."

Jack's thoughts were again interrupted by a knock on the door and the doctor who was taking care of Jack entered the room without waiting for permission. "Jack," he said with a smile. "I just got your x-rays back. As far as the ribs go, it's pretty much what we suspected. Two are broken, but no other damage. They're going to hurt for a while."

Jack nodded having been told what he was already pretty sure of. "How about the knee? Do you have a surgeon in mind?" he asked expecting that surgery would be the next step.

"You don't need one. It looks like you strained some ligaments, but nothing is torn. You'll need crutches for a while. I don't want you to put any weight on the knee for at least a couple of weeks. We'll put a brace on it to hold it in position, but otherwise it should heal on its own."

Jack smiled. This was going far better than he had anticipated. "So I can leave now?"

"In a couple of hours. I just ordered the brace that you need. That'll be here soon. We'll have to adjust it and get you fitted with crutches. We'll have you out of here as soon as possible. Right now, sit up and I'll see what I can do about taping up those ribs. That should make breathing a little easier."

Jack pushed back the sheets on the bed and groaned involuntarily as he sat up.

The doctor frowned. "I didn't realize that you were in that much pain. Why didn't you say something earlier? I can get you something to make you more comfortable."

"No, that's alright. I'll be okay," Jack assured him.

"It doesn't make any sense for you to sit here in pain. Let me get you something for it." He turned away from Jack and hit a buzzer to call the nurse.

"Can I help you?" she responded.

"Sue, get me 2mg of dilaudid for Agent Bauer."

"Yes sir. It'll just take me a minute."

"Dr. Ingram," Jack started. "You know my history. I'm not sure that dilaudid is the best thing for me to take."

"Look, Jack, I understand your reluctance, but one dose of dilaudid doesn't make you an addict. You're in pain. We need to treat the pain. You aren't suddenly going to develop a craving for heroin again. It's a small dose of dilaudid. It'll take the edge off the pain so that we can get you up and moving around. It also might give you a chance to rest while we're waiting for the brace to get here."

As much as he didn't want the narcotic, Jack knew that he needed to take something for pain. As long as he was lying still he was fine, but as soon as he moved, the pain was nearly unbearable. He said nothing as the nurse came into the room, swabbed the injection site with alcohol and injected the drug.

"Get some rest," Dr. Ingram told him. "I'll be back in a little while."

The doctor and nurse left the room and Jack settled back to try and sleep. He hadn't even had a chance to doze off when his phone rang. He took it from the bedside table and flipped it open.

"Jack." It was Bill Buchanan.

"Yeah, Bill. What's going on?"

"I just finished talking with the District Director and with Curtis. You have a deal. Curtis is the new CTU director. He and I will officially move into our new positions next Monday. You'll be installed as head of field ops as soon as you're medically cleared. I talked to Dr. Ingram, he thought that would be about 4 to 6 weeks. I can't tell you how happy I am to have you on board, Jack. You and Curtis and I will work well together."

"Thanks, Bill. I can't tell you how happy I am to have the position."

"Let me know when you're ready and we'll discuss salary and work out any details."

"Can we do that later, Bill? The doctor just gave me something for pain and it's making me a little fuzzy. I think right now I need to sleep."

"I understand. Get some rest. We'll talk about it in a few days."

Jack set down the phone, barely able to keep his eyes open. Between the drug and well over 24 hours without sleep, exhaustion had finally set in and he needed to sleep. He could feel his entire body relax as his eyes went closed.

He didn't really have any idea how long he slept. It could have been hours or it may have only been a few minutes, but something was nudging him back into consciousness. His eyes were still closed but he knew someone was in the room with him. He didn't hear the person. No, he sensed them more than heard them. It was a woman. He sensed that, too. He was getting a soft whiff of some feminine scent, a cologne or a perfumed hand soap. It was probably one of the nurses. She had probably come in to check on him. He liked the dreamy feeling of the partially awake – partially asleep state that he was in and opted not to open his eyes. If the nurse was here to take his vital signs, she could do that while he slept. He knew that she was standing close to the bed now; the scent was stronger. She touched his wrist as if she was going to take his pulse.

"Jack," she whispered gently. "Jack, it's Audrey. Can you open your eyes?"


	5. Epilogue: Audrey

_Ok, I'm hoping that some of you are still with me. My last chapter went over like a lead balloon! It got a bunch of hits, but only a couple of reviews. Was it that bad? Maybe I don't want you to answer that! Anyway, thanks to those of you who reviewed. I hope there are others of you who will at least give me another chance and read this chapter._

_One thing I want to make clear is that in my 24, S5 world, Tony and Michelle are alive and well and living in some suburb of LA or maybe they moved some place safe like Cleveland. I love the show and always will but since this is fanfiction, in my stories I can change the storyline any time I like._

**The Debriefing: Epilogue**

12:55

Audrey

Jack was sleeping so peacefully that Audrey hated to disturb him. His face was scraped in a couple of places and he desperately needed a shave. She couldn't help but think about how handsome he was. She preferred his hair a little longer, but the close cropped looked made him rugged and sexy. She couldn't help but remember what it had been like to be _with_ him; to make love with him. Despite his strength and his ability to torture and maim and, yes, even kill when the situation warranted, he was a gentle and tender lover. She smiled when she remembered their first night together. It had all started so innocently. He was driving her home and the next thing she knew they were waking up together the next day. She was an aggressive lover and that didn't seem to bother him. She had learned years ago that only men who were really secure in their masculinity would allow her to be in charge of their lovemaking without challenging her, even Paul challenged her. It was one of the things that really bothered her about him.

Audrey took a step closer to Jack's side. She wanted to touch him but something was holding her back. She didn't know what it was. She didn't know why she was so afraid. Jack still loved her. Diane had told her that and he admitted it. What had he said? "I never stopped loving you, not for a second." That was pretty heady stuff. To think that over the last 18 months that he hadn't forgotten about her and moved on told her something about this man. If nothing else, he was sincere. Eighteen months ago, when he told her that he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, he was serious.

Unfortunately, Audrey wasn't quite sure that she loved him back. In point of fact, she wasn't sure that she had ever really loved him. This morning when he told her that he still loved her, she suddenly was very sure that she loved him, too. That was when she was also sure that by this time today, Jack Bauer would be back in hiding, living under an assumed name. It was safe to love him knowing that he wasn't going to be anywhere near her. Now that the matter with the Chinese was cleared up and Jack had his life back, Audrey was going to have to make some decisions. In fact, she had already made the decision. If Jack spent the last 18 months in hiding thinking about her and loving her, then she was going to love him back. If he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, then that was what she was going to do. It seemed the least that she could do for him after all he had sacrificed for everyone else. And it wasn't exactly going to be a hardship. She could certainly do worse. Jack was a wonderful man and she cared deeply for him. She suspected that she would learn to love him. On top of it all, her father would be thrilled. He loved Jack like a son and had taken his "death" very hard. He was ecstatic when he learned that Jack was alive and couldn't wait to see him.

Her decision made, Audrey reached out and touched Jack's arm. "Jack," she whispered. "Jack, it's Audrey. Can you open your eyes?" The doctor had warned her that he would probably be pretty sleepy since he had been given the pain reliever just a little while earlier. "Jack, can you wake up for me?" she asked. This time she lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it. Jack opened his eyes slowly.

"Hey," he whispered. "What are you still doing here? I thought you'd be getting some rest." The fog was beginning to clear from his mind and Jack sat up a little straighter. The pain in both his side and his leg was considerably less that it had been.

"I just finished up and I wanted to see you before I went home. We really didn't have a chance to talk."

"No, I guess we didn't," Jack said. "When are you leaving for Washington?"

"I live here now, in LA," Audrey told him.

"Really? When did you leave DC?"

"About a year ago. An opening came up for the Inter-agency Liaison here on the west coast so I decided to take it."

Jack looked confused. "You were your father's senior policy advisor. Why would you give that up?"

Audrey shrugged vaguely. "I'm not totally sure. I had a couple of reasons. Maybe I just needed a change of scenery. I guess there's more to it than that but I can't explain it."

"Are you at CTU a lot?"

"No, this is the first time I've been here since… since that day. I work with agencies all over the wet coast so I'm not always in LA. I live here but I spend a lot of time traveling. Most of my contact with CTU Los Angeles is through Division."

There was a lull in the conversation and the ensuing silence was awkward.

"I talked to Dr. Ingram. He said you wouldn't need any surgery. That's good news," Audrey said as she looked for ways to fill the void.

Jack nodded. "I'm happy about it. I wasn't looking forward to knee surgery," he said with a wry smile. "I should be able to leave later today. The doctor is just waiting on a knee brace."

"I saw Kim before she left. She said that you were going to stay with her for a while."

"Yeah, I am."

"That's great. I'm happy that she isn't angry with you. I know how much she means to you."

"We still have to work some things out, but I think we'll be okay," Jack said nodding knowingly. "I'm not sure what caused her change in attitude since I first saw her. Maybe she just needed to get past the shock, but whatever it was I'm glad that it happened."

"I think Chloe had a little talk with her. That was part of it. And I think at some point later on, when you were out in the field and we didn't know if you were going to come back, she realized what a gift she'd been given. She has a father who loves her more than anything in the world and even if she didn't understand your reasons and she was angry with you, she didn't want to lose you again. She wanted a chance to love you back."

The room was quiet again; neither one knowing what to say. For the second time, Audrey broke the silence.

"I just got off the phone with my father. He said to tell you 'hello'. He's so happy that you're alive."

"How's your father doing?"

"He's well. Thanks for asking. He's busy, as usual. He's hoping that he can get out here to the west coast next week to see you."

"That would be great. I'd love to see him. Your father's a good man, Audrey. I'm proud to have had the chance to serve under him," Jack told her sincerely.

"He was hoping that you might consider working for him again, but I talked to Bill a little while ago. He said you're going to come back and take over field operations."

"It was nice of your father to consider hiring me again, but this way I can stay in LA and stay close to Kim."

"Are you excited about coming back to work here?" Audrey asked.

"Yeah, I am. I wasn't expecting Bill to offer me a position. Before he came in and talked to me I was laying here wondering what I was going to do with the rest of my life." Jack smiled at her. "How do you feel about my coming back here, Audrey?"

"Jack, you need to do what makes you happy. I told you before that you belong here, that it's what you do best."

"You also told me that you couldn't love me because of that. I think your exact words were 'it wouldn't work'," Jack reminded her. He wasn't sure why he decided to remind her of that and he wasn't sure why he had let such a cold edge to find its way into his voice. Maybe it had to do with how much those words had hurt him. For the last 18 months he had tried to forget those words, to forget that Audrey couldn't love him because of how she perceived him. She didn't understand that _who he was _and _what he did_ were two entirely different things. He truly was the kind and gently soul that she claimed she loved. Unfortunately, circumstances made him do things that she didn't like. She didn't understand that it would never be his choice to torture someone or to let them die, as he had Paul. That wasn't in his nature. He did those things only when the circumstances warranted.

Audrey turned away and walked toward the window. "I'm not proud of what I said that night, Jack. I was angry and tired and, probably, in shock from everything that had happened. I said things that I wish I could take back. I'm sorry, Jack. I never wanted to hurt you."

"Are you sure of that?"

"Of what? Do you think I said those things intentionally to hurt you?" Audrey asked incredulously.

"I thing at that moment you were lashing out at me in any way you could. You knew that you couldn't physically hurt me so you used the only avenue you had open to you. It was an emotional hit that was carefully placed and it worked. I don't blame you for that, Audrey. You had every reason to want to hurt me. I just think you should be honest with yourself."

Tears filled Audrey's eyes. "Maybe you're right, Jack. At that moment I was so angry that maybe I did want to hurt you, but I regretted it as soon as I said it. God knows that for the last 18 months those words haunted me. It took me a while to understand what kind of hard decisions you had to make that day and how quickly you had to make them. If you want to know the truth, I don't think I really understood until yesterday. I spent all day yesterday watching Bill and Lynn McGill, for a while, and the president make some really tough decisions. Some of them I agreed with and others I didn't, but by the end of the day, I understood what it took to make those decisions. I think I understand you now better than I ever have before. "Jack, what I'm trying to say," Audrey started as she sat down on the edge of his bed, "is that I'm sorry. I know that I hurt you and I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me."

Jack reached out and drew her into his arms taking care not to jar his ribs. "I told you before, Audrey, I never blamed you for what you said. You had every right to be angry with me and hate me. There's nothing to forgive."

Audrey rested against his warm body wanting nothing more than to fall asleep in his arms. She felt young and vulnerable and she wanted someone to care for her. The two rested against each other for several minutes without speaking. This time the silence was more comfortable.

"Audrey," Jack said quietly and he pulled away from her and lay back against the pillow. "Have you ever really thought about our relationship?"

"Jack, the truth is that I've spent the last 18 months trying to forget it. It was too painful to think about it. It was too painful to think about you."

"I know that, but right now, if you think about it objectively, what do you remember most about our relationship?"

"What are you trying to get at, Jack?"

"I want you to think about it, about us. What was it like?"

"Our relationship?"

"Yes."

"It was great."

"What was great about it?"

"Is this some kind of game? I'm too tired for games, Jack. What are you getting at?" Audrey asked. Her tone more than hinted at her exasperation at Jack's line of questioning.

"I told you. I want you to think about our relationship. Tell me what was great about it. What do you remember the most about it?"

"I remember all the time we spent together. I remember watching movies in bed and making love. I remember the first night we spent together. Is that good enough for you?"

"Audrey, listen to yourself. You remember watching movies in bed and making love and our first night together. Everything you remember is physical. You don't remember spending an evening with friends or going to dinner and the theater or going on vacation and lying on the beach watching the waves and talking about our hopes and dreams for the future. You don't remember me comforting you when you were upset or laughing together over something silly. You don't remember those things because none of them happened. Our relationship consisted of spending the night at your place or mine. We'd order out food or cook something quick and then hop into bed. Sometimes we didn't make it to bed. We just had sex wherever we were at the moment."

"I don't remember you complaining about that at the time."

"Then you weren't listening. I wanted to go to your father and tell him about us so we could do all of those other things, but you refused. You were worried about how it would look and how he would perceive it. So instead of having a real relationship, what we had was an affair."

"Nobody was forcing you to stay in the relationship, Jack. You were welcome to leave at any time. I came home late more than once and found you lying in my bed. You seemed more than happy when I got in beside you in some slinky little piece of lingerie," Audrey snapped defensively.

"I'll be the first one to admit that the sex was great. And for a while, I guess I was confusing it with love. Yeah, you're right, I could have gotten out at any time. I probably should have."

"So you were using me?"

"Maybe I was. I didn't see it that way at the time. The truth is, Audrey, I'm not sure that we weren't both using each other. At that point in our lives, you needed me as much as I needed you."

"What about this morning? You told me that you still loved me. Were you lying to me?"

"No, part of me still loves you and probably always will. Part of me wants us to try again."

"Where do we go from here, Jack?"

"I don't know," he answered truthfully. "I honestly don't know, Audrey."

Audrey stood and again turned to face the window. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," Jack answered almost imperceptibly.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to. I understand if it's too personal." Audrey stopped for a moment as if waiting for Jack to say something. When he didn't, she continued. "When I interviewed Diane Huxley, she said that you rented a room from her."

"That's true," Jack affirmed.

"I got the feeling that there was more to it than that. I got the feeling that the two of you had some kind of relationship. She referred to you and herself and her son as 'a family'."

"When I got the job with the oil company, I needed some place to live. The foreman gave me Diane's name and said that she sometimes had a room to rent. The room was available and I took it." Jack's eyes moved to some distant place that only he could see. "After I moved in, I started to help around the house and help Derek with his homework. Pretty soon I was eating dinner with them every night and sometimes Diane and I would watch a movie together or take a walk in the evening. We would go and watch Derek play baseball with his rec league team. A couple of times we took Derek and a friend or two to the beach. The kids would surf and Diane and I would just walk along the shore. She liked to pick up shells and interesting stones. Nothing exciting or romantic, just ordinary things. I guess we did become a family." Jack couldn't help but smile. He liked that Diane thought of them as a family. Deep down, in a part of him that he didn't allow to rise to the surface very often, that was what he wanted. He knew it was a pipedream, but he wanted for them to be a family, maybe even to have a family.

"So you did all those things with Diane that you didn't do with me."

"Yes," Jack said almost wistfully. "We were never intimate, Audrey, if that's what you're asking. We made a decision that we wanted to set a good example for her son. A friend of his had already been caught having sex with a girl down the street while her parents weren't home. We felt that it was important to show him that a man and a woman could have a good relationship without it becoming sexual."

"That was noble of you," Audrey said with a hint of sarcasm.

"It wasn't meant to be noble, Audrey," Jack answered without trying to hide his irritation. "It was the right thing to do. I've raised a teenager, remember. They have a lot of bad influences in their lives. Diane and I decided that we needed to be a good influence for Derek."

The previous awkward silence returned but didn't last long before Audrey braced herself and asked her next question. "Do you love her?"

Jack thought for a moment before he answered. "I never really thought about it. I knew that I cared for her."

"She loves you," Audrey said matter-of-factly.

"Did she say that?"

"She didn't have to. I knew it by what she said. She knew you were keeping secrets from her but that she was willing to live because you were good to her. Any woman who feels that way about a man is in love with him."

"Men haven't been very nice to Diane over the years. I think she was probably just responding to the fact that I had been nice to her."

"No. Trust me, Jack. Diane loves you. I could see it in her eyes."

Jack looked away. He wasn't sure what to say.

"She's a smart woman. She knows a good man when she sees one," Audrey said with a wry smile. "Maybe she's a lot smarter than I am."

The room went silent again. This time the silence was nearly deafening and both Jack and Audrey found it almost unbearable.

"You never answered me when I asked how you felt about my coming back to CTU," Jack said quietly without looking up.

"Yes, I did. I said that you needed to do what made you happy," Audrey said softly.

"That doesn't tell me how you feel."

"It truly doesn't matter how I feel. It's your life. You need to live it the way you see fit and the way that it makes you happy."

"I just want it to be clear, Audrey, that I'm the same man who you said you couldn't love 18 months ago. I haven't changed. I will still do anything that it takes to do my job the way it has to be done."

Audrey looked down and nodded. "I know that, Jack." She turned away to hide the tears that were filling her eyes. She could hear Diane Huxley's voice from a day earlier. She remembered Diane asking if she still loved Jack and telling her that he loved her. She could hear Diane's gentle, sincere voice saying, "Do him a favor. If you don't love him, let him go."

Audrey turned back and sat down on the bed. She took Jack's hand and kissed it again. "I can't do it, Jack. I came in here fully planning on pledging my love to you for the rest of our lives, but I can't do it. It would be wrong for both of us. I would be lying to you if I said that your coming back to CTU was okay with me. I would be lying to myself if I tried to make myself believe that. I'm sorry."

Jack reached out and pushed some stray hair from Audrey's face. He touched her chin and lifted it so that their eyes met. "Thank you. I came to that conclusion a little while ago. I was hoping that you would come to the same conclusion. I want you to know, Audrey, that I love you and I always will, but it's not a love that can sustain us for a lifetime."

Audrey closed her eyes for a second. "I know. I feel the same way." She leaned in and kissed his cheek. She stroked his face lightly and then stood up and began walking away.

"Will you be alright?"

Audrey smiled slowly at him. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I think that I'm probably better than when I got up yesterday morning. You're alive and I was able to apologize to you for the way I treated you. We've made our peace with each other and both of us can move on. I think that's the best outcome I could have ever hoped for. How about you?"

"I feel the same way. It feels good not to have to live under an alias and wonder if today is the day that someone figures out who I really am. I'm glad to be Jack Bauer again. I'm happy to have my daughter and my job back. You and I have had the chance to clear the air. You're right. Now it's time for both of us to move on," Jack said. "Take care of yourself, Audrey."

"You, too. Good bye, Jack." Audrey turned and strode confidently through the door as an incredible sense of relief washed over her. She glanced back into the glass enclosed room at Jack. He had his head back and his eyes closed. He looked comfortable and peaceful and happy. He would go back to Diane. She knew it. It was as predictable as day following night. She also knew that they would be happy. She wanted Jack to be happy. He had had so much pain in his life.

As for herself, Audrey Heller Raines was a different person today. She was older and wiser and more mature than she had been just a day ago. She knew what she wanted from life. She would stay here, in her current job, but at some point she might consider returning to Washington. Her next love, if there was another one, would be different from the past two. She no longer needed to be a part of a power couple as she had been with Paul. And she no longer had any desire for the wild, illicit affair that she had with Jack. The next relationship would be about both of them, not just about her. It would be about love and sharing her life, not about ulterior motives and climbing the social and political and corporate ladders.

The last day had been hell but despite the losses and the pain and all the bad that had happened, Audrey was strangely happy. So many lives had been changed forever in the past 24 hours and hers was one of them. The difference was that hers was really much better than it had ever been before. It was a new beginning for her and she planned to take full advantage of it.

_Author's note: The last and final chapter will be from Diane's perspective. Hope you'll stay with me. If you have a second, please review. If you don't write, you have no idea how much authors love reviews. Trust me, we live for them. There is nothing that makes me happier than lots of reviews in my mailbox. (And after episode 5.13…please, please, please send me some happiness!)_


	6. Epilogue: Diane

_Okay, I did it again. Just when I think I'm on the last chapter of a story, it gets too long and complicated and I end up dividing into it two chapters. That is what happened here. So this isn't the last chapter as promised, but the second to the last. The absolute last (I swear) should be posted soon. Hope you like this one and will stick with me for the last chapter._

**The Debriefing**

Epilogue: Diane

10:02 am

The tea kettle on the stove howled as the water came to a boil. Diane jumped up from the kitchen table where she was reading the morning paper and snatched it from the stove before it could wake Derek who was sleeping on the family room sofa. She poured the boiling water over a tea bag in her favorite mug and stared out the window. She was grateful that it was Saturday and that she didn't have to go to work. Diane hadn't slept well in either of the last two nights. The last 48 hours had been a nightmare and she needed the weekend to pull herself back together.

It was amazing to her that just a little over 48 hours ago she was eating breakfast with Frank and Derek, all of them readying themselves for a normal summer day. So much had happened in the ensuing 48 hours. She felt fortunate that she still had her son, but in the process she had lost the man she had so recently fallen in love with and she missed him. She wasn't sure why she missed him. She didn't even know who he was. First he was Frank and then he was Jack and he wasn't an oil rigger, he was a government agent. _Who_ he was wasn't important; it was _what_ he was that she cared about. Frank Flynn or Jack Bauer, it didn't matter, was a warm, kind, loving man who had slowly and carefully stolen her heart. She was sure he felt the same way. Up until two days ago, that is. That was when she was introduced to the world of CTU and one Audrey Raines. She would never forget that moment when Jack and Audrey saw each other for the first time. The look they shared and the obvious love that they had for one another was overwhelming. It was almost palpable.

In a way Diane was angry with herself. She hadn't done anything to help her own cause. She regretted being so adamant about keeping her relationship with Jack platonic. Maybe he would have forgotten about Audrey if she had allowed him to push the relationship to the next level. Every man she had ever met was pretty much just interested in sex. _Why should Jack be any different?_ she thought. _Give him a piece of ass and he's more likely to stick around. _ What's the big deal? Women do it all the time. At least she wouldn't have been compromising herself for one of the local bums who came home liquored up every night just looking for a screw followed by eight hours of sleep. Jack was worth it. She closed her eyes remembering his warm, gentle touch and how tenderly he kissed her. She wondered if he would have been the same way in bed.

Diane shook her head to try and clear it. It was all too much to think about, but she couldn't stop thinking about it. She looked into the family room at Derek. The boy had fallen asleep on the sofa sometime in the middle of the night. The television was still on, tuned to a 24 hour news service. Derek never watched the news before but now she couldn't get him away from it. He had watched constantly since they had gotten home from CTU. He watched intently hoping for any possible news on Jack. Derek was so different than the boy who left the house to follow Frank two days earlier. On the way home from CTU, he told his mother that he was going to do better in school this year. He said that he needed to bring his grades up in order to get into college and then the police academy. Diane was shocked. Derek had always shunned authority and rules; now he was talking about becoming a police officer.

Diane shook her head again. Two days ago Derek hated the man he knew as Frank. Now that he was really Jack Bauer, Secret Agent, Derek couldn't get enough. Jack's name had been mentioned several times and they had shown an official government photograph of him looking particularly handsome in a navy blue suit with a white shirt and tie. They had heard that he had been injured but that his injuries were not thought to be life threatening. Diane was grateful for that. She might not be able to have him in her life, but she didn't want him to be hurt.

The knock on the door startled her. She wasn't expecting anyone. It was probably her mother. The woman loved to drop in unannounced. Diane covered the few feet to the door in a couple of steps and opened it expecting to have to deal with her mother, something she really didn't feel like doing at the moment. She steeled herself, threw back the dead bolt and opened the door.

"Hi Diane," Jack said softly. "How are you?"

"Frank? I…I mean, Jack, I didn't know you were coming."

"I'm sorry to barge in like this. I guess I should have called."

"No, no, that's fine," Diane stammered. She took stock of him. He had some cuts on his face, a brace on his leg and was leaning on crutches. "Are you okay? What happened to your leg?"

"I strained some ligaments in my knee. Nothing serious. They just want me to keep the weight off of it for a couple of weeks. I'll be fine."

"Come in…ah… why don't you come in and sit down," Diane offered not sure what else to say.

"Thanks, I'd like that," Jack answered. Diane moved away from the door to allow him entrance. He moved easily despite the crutches and sat on a kitchen chair. "Where's Derek? Is he okay?"

"He's asleep in the family room. He's watched the news for the last two days trying to get information about you. He wanted to make sure you were alright," Diane told him. "Ah…would you like some coffee?"

"If you have some, that would be great."

"I'll make some. It'll just take a few minutes." Diane busied herself putting on a pot of coffee. "I guess you came to pick up your things."

"I can do that if you like. I guess it would give you a chance to rent out the room as soon as possible. I really came to talk to you and Derek."

Diane's back was to Jack. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. She could just imagine what he wanted to say. It probably had something to do with him moving back to LA and staying with Audrey.

"I thought you two deserved to hear the whole story. I never meant for either of you to end up in the middle of a terrorist attack, Diane. I hope you can believe me," he said sincerely.

Diane turned to face him. "Of course I believe you. I told you before, Jack, that I trusted you. I don't think you ever set out to put Derek or me in danger." She sat down while the coffee brewed.

Their conversation, although quiet, woke Derek who instantly recognized Jack's voice. "Jack!" he shouted as he jumped up from the sofa. "Are you okay? They said on the news that you were the one who killed the head of the terrorist organization. They're calling you a hero. Is it true?"

Jack smiled ruefully and looked down at the floor. "I'm not feeling like much of a hero right now. I'm just happy that you and your mother are okay."

"So, are you going to stay here for a while?" Derek asked eagerly.

"I have to go back to LA, but I wanted to talk to you and your mom." Jack looked up as Diane set a cup of coffee in front of him. "Thanks," he said as he took a sip.

"Are you hungry? Can I get you some breakfast?" Diane asked looking for any way to keep Jack there as long as possible.

"No, thanks, I had breakfast at my daughter's house."

"I didn't know you had a daughter until Derek told me," Diane said softly.

"There's a lot you don't know about me. That's why I'm here. I need to tell you the truth."

It was nearly 2 o'clock when Jack finally finished telling Diane and Derek about who he was and how he ended up living in a rented room and working on an oil rig. They listened intently and said little. Derek was riveted; his eyes fixed almost unblinkingly on Jack. Diane felt her eyes fill with tears more than once as Jack recounted some of the more difficult times in his life. When he saw the tears, Jack would reach over and squeeze her hand until she composed herself again. Each time Diane found it harder and harder to compose herself knowing that the story was soon going to come to an end and the end of the story likely signaled Jack's exit from her house and from her life.

Jack's story had just ended and Diane looked up at the clock. "Oh, Derek, don't forget you have baseball practice at 2:30. You better get ready."

"Yeah, I guess so," he answered unenthusiastically. "I'll be back in a couple of hours. Will you be here when I get home, Jack?"

"I don't know, Derek. If I'm not here, I want you to know that you can always call me if you need someone to talk to. I expect your baseball team to be in the state championship next year. If it is, I'll come and watch. Deal?"

"Deal," Derek agreed. The two shook hands.

Jack and Diane said little while Derek got his baseball gear together and left for practice. Diane cleaned up coffee cups and the remnants of lunch that she had made an hour earlier while Jack was in the midst of telling them his life story.

"So, what's next for you, Jack? Where do you go from here?" Diane asked tentatively.

"I'm going to go back to work for CTU," Jack told her.

"So you're staying in LA?"

"Yeah."

"Where are you living?"

"I'm staying with my daughter for a few weeks. Then I'll look for a place of my own. I like the neighborhood she lives in. There're a lot of young people, a lot of families. It's a nice area. I was thinking about getting a condo or a small house."

Diane nodded. "You must be happy to see your daughter again. I don't know what I would do if I had to be separated from Derek and I couldn't even talk to him."

Jack closed his eyes against the memory. "It was the hardest thing I've ever done. Walking away from Kim and letting her think that I was dead…" he shook his head. "Let me put it this way. Dying would have been easier, much easier. I think that's why I was so happy here, Diane. It was like having a family again. You let me be part of your family."

Tears filled Diane's eyes yet again and this time she allowed them to flow down her cheeks unchecked. "I loved having you here, Jack. I hoped that one day…" she turned away. "I was stupid, I know." Diane stood up and walked away, her back turned toward Jack.

Jack stood with the help of the crutches and made his way over to her. He stood behind her and gently squeezed her upper arms with his strong hands. "What did you hope for, Diane?" he whispered. "What was it, Sweetheart?"

Diane's body shook as she sobbed. "I thought that one day we might be a family, maybe have our own family. I thought that maybe I finally found someone who really loved me and would love me forever," her voice trailed off. She was unable to continue.

"You have, Diane," Jack whispered into her ear. He nuzzled her neck lightly. "You have found someone who will love you forever, Sweetheart. I love you so much."

Diane turned not sure that she was hearing him correctly. As she turned she found herself pinned between the kitchen cabinets and Jack. Their bodies were just inches apart and she felt the warmth radiating from him. It felt good to be this close.

"What about Audrey?" Diane asked. "Two days ago you told me that you loved her. What happened?"

Jack sighed softly. "At that moment, I thought I loved her. You have to understand that when I was forced into hiding, Audrey had just broken off our relationship. I was devastated. In my mind our relationship was perfect. I spent the last 18 months forgetting any of the bad points and only remembering what was good about it. When I saw her again, something that I never thought was possible, all I could think about was that perfect relationship that I had created in my mind. When you asked me if I loved Audrey, I said 'yes.'

"Then yesterday morning, while I was lying in the medical unit, I had a lot of time to think. I had my identity back, I had my job back and most importantly, I had my daughter back. All I needed to do was get Audrey back. That was when I really started to think about my relationship with Audrey and I realized that it wasn't perfect. The truth is, it was pretty superficial. It wasn't something I thought we could sustain. It was too weak of a foundation to try and build our lives on. When we talked, I realized that Audrey felt the same way.

"When I went back to my daughter's house yesterday and had more time to think, I couldn't get you out of my mind. I knew that I wanted you and Derek to be part of my life. I wanted us to build a life together." Jack put his hands on either side of Diane's face and looked intently into her eyes. "We have a solid foundation, Diane. We have something to build on. Let's do it. I want you and Derek to come to LA with me. I want us to become a family."

"Jack, this is all so sudden. We've only known each other for a few months," Diane said trying to take in all that had just happened.

"We've lived in the same house for the last six months and we've spent a lot of time together. I know everything that I need to know about you." He brushed some hair back away from her face. "I don't want to pressure you. If you aren't ready to get married, maybe you could move to LA and rent an apartment near me. I told you, it's a nice neighborhood. Derek would go to a good school."

"Jack! Listen to yourself. This is crazy. I can't just quit my job and sell my house and move to LA. Where would I work?"

"Why can't you quit your job and sell your house? What's keeping you here? You can get a job in LA. If we get married, Diane, you don't have to work. You can go back to school and get the teaching degree you've always wanted. You've said it yourself, if you could go to school full time, you would finish up in a year and a half."

Diane eased herself away from him and paced the kitchen floor. "Jack, I don't know… I need time to think about this."

"Take all the time you need, Diane. Talk it over with Derek. I don't need an answer right now. My offer still stands whenever you're ready. Just promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

"Promise me that you won't shut me out of your life. Even if you stay here, we can still see each other. It's not that far away. I can come and see you on weekends or you and Derek can come and see me." Jack once again closed the space that Diane had opened up between them. "I love you, Diane," he whispered. He reached for her hand and pulled her toward him.

"I love you, too," Diane whispered in return. As if on cue, they wrapped their arms around each other and began to kiss hungrily.

They kissed for a long time until the position, standing in the kitchen leaning against the counter with Jack balancing on one foot and a pair of crutches, eventually became uncomfortable. Diane readjusted her arms and inadvertently put pressure on Jack's broken ribs. He winced audibly and pulled away.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Diane gasped realizing that Jack was in pain. "Did I bump your knee?"

"No, I'm fine," Jack told her through slightly gritted teeth. "I have a couple of broken ribs. It hurt when you put your hand there."

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea. I thought the only injury you had was you knee," Diane said with a concerned look on her face. "Are there any other injuries that I don't know about?"

Jack looked away sheepishly. He hated to have to admit to injuries. He also was concerned that if Diane knew how closely he had come to death that she would want out of their relationship. Women rarely found it easy to love a man whose job it was to jump in the line of fire. Jack knew that from first hand experience. "Just a graze wound on my thigh." He pointed to the outer aspect of right leg.

Concern continued to cloud Diane's face. "My God, Jack! You could have been killed!"

Jack finally looked up at her. She had to understand the truth now if their relationship was going to work. "In my line of work, when I'm in the field, that's always a possibility. You anticipate what can go wrong and you take every safety precaution, but you can't plan for everything. Sometimes things happen that you didn't expect and people get hurt. Sometimes they die. I've been lucky so far. You have to trust me that I never take an unnecessary risk, but I can't guarantee my safety. I can't guarantee that one day the CTU director won't be on our doorstep telling you that I've been killed."

Diane stared at him and, after what seemed to Jack like hours of consideration, finally nodded. "I guess I knew that. I just didn't want to admit it to myself."

Jack waited nervously for the other shoe to drop. "Does that change how you feel?"

"Not at all. I love you. Every minute I spend with you is special. I've never wanted to share my life with another person as much as I want to share it with you. I hope we have the chance to spend the next 50 years together, but if not, I'll cherish whatever time we have and know that however long or short that is, it's a blessing." Diane put her arms around him again, this time being careful to avoid his broken ribs. "Maybe we should sit down. We have a lot more to talk about," she suggested after several minutes in the quiet, gentle embrace.

They moved to the sofa and sat close together, bodies touching. Jack reached for her and they began kissing again. Diane heard herself let out a quiet groan. "It's a long drive back to LA, Jack. Why don't you call your daughter and tell her you're staying here tonight?"

Jack smiled at her. That was the best offer he'd had in a long time, but he shook his head. "If I stay here tonight, we both know what's going to happen."

"It's okay, Jack, I'm ready for that."

"What about Derek? What happened to that good example we were setting?"

"We're in a committed relationship. We're not just dating casually. I think that's all the explanation he needs. I just wanted him to know that it's not okay to sleep with everyone you're attracted to. We're past that point. We're talking about marriage."

Jack kissed her lightly and smiled at her but he shook his head again. "No, not tonight. First of all, I'm in no shape to make love to you. It takes the fun out of it when you can't move without some body part hurting," he said softly as he kissed Diane's neck. "From some of the things you've said, I get the impression that in the past the men you were with didn't show you the love that you deserve. I want to change that. I want to show you how you're supposed to feel." He was sucking gently on her earlobe now. His voice barely a whisper hissed into her ear, "Secondly, I want us to make love some place special, some place private because I don't want you to have to be quiet. And I don't want to have to be quiet. Sweetheart, I plan to make you scream."

Diane's eyes were closed and she felt the warm sensation growing between her legs. "Oh God, Jack!" she hissed in return. "You're making me crazy."

"Good," he whispered. He left her ear and made his way down her neck leaving a line of soft wet kisses along the way. His hands found their way to her breasts and he could feel that her nipples were hard with excitement. Diane groaned softly. Jack felt like a teenager with his latest girlfriend copping a feel in his parents' living room, the fear of getting caught fueling his excitement. He put his hands inside of Diane's tee shirt and pushed it up. She continued to groan as he lifted her bra to expose her breasts. Diane arched her back to give Jack better access and he lowered his mouth to tenderly suck on one breast while he fondled the other.

The sound of Derek's baseball spikes on the steps up to the porch brought the pair back to reality. Jack sat up as quickly as he could while helping Diane readjust her clothing. Both were trying to breathe normally but neither was very successful at it.

"Jack!" Derek called happily. "You're still here."

"Yeah," Jack returned nonchalantly. "I wanted to stay until you got home from practice. I have to get going in a few minutes." Jack stood slowly with the help of his crutches.

"I'm glad you stayed. It was good to see you." Derek extended his hand and Jack shook it in return.

"This isn't good bye, Derek," Jack said as he looked over at Diane. "I think we're going to be seeing a lot of each other."

"Really? That's great." He looked at Jack and then at his mother, both of whom were trying to suppress smiles. "What's going on?"

"I'm going to go and let your mother talk to you," Jack told him.

Diane walked Jack to the door and kissed him good bye. "Be careful going back to LA. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

She watched Jack get into the car he had borrowed from his daughter and drive away. Derek stood next to her watching in silence.

"Mom, what's going on? What was Jack talking about?" he asked.

"Jack wants us to move to LA with him. He asked me to marry him," Diane explained.

"You're kidding! You said 'yes', right?" Derek asked hopefully.

"I told him that I needed some time to think and to talk to you."

"Mom, what is there to think about? He's the best guy that's ever walked into your life. He cares more about you than all of the others put together, including my father."

"He cares about you, too," Diane told him.

"I know he does. I was so wrong about him. I'm sorry, Mom. I know I treated him really badly. When I realized what he was really like and when he saved all those lives in the airport, I felt like a jerk."

"How would you feel about moving to LA? You'd have to leave all of your friends."

"This place is a hell hole, Mom. I guess I'll miss my friends, but I'll make new ones. Let's face it; the guys I'm hanging around with aren't the best. Moving to LA would be great. I could start over there. I want you and Jack to be proud of me."

Diane smiled and pulled her son into her arms. He had grown up so much in the last two days. "I'm already proud of you," she whispered as her voice cracked with emotion.

Later that evening Diane was humming quietly as she got ready for bed. All she could think about was how much her life had changed since she got up that morning. She was about to uncover her bed and get in when her phone rang.

"Hello," she said curious about who would be calling this late at night.

"Hey," Jack said softly. "Did I wake you?"

"No, I was just getting into bed. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to say good night and tell you that I love you."

"I love you, too," Diane said in return.

"I also wanted to apologize for letting things get out of hand on the sofa tonight. I shouldn't have done that. It put you in a bad position with Derek coming home."

Diane smiled. Jack was so thoughtful. None of the other men in her life would have ever considered her feelings this way. "It's okay. You notice that I didn't stop you."

"Yeah, I did notice that," Jack replied with an amused lilt to his voice.

"I didn't know it was supposed to feel that good. I felt like I'd been transported to another place and time and nothing else mattered except for us and how good it felt to be together," she told him dreamily. She heard the words coming out of her mouth, but they were so unlike her. Diane was normally practical and pragmatic and rarely let her emotions get in the way.

"I always want it to be that way when were together, Sweetheart."

The two said good night and each got into bed alone to dream of their future together.


	7. The Future

_Here it is, the last chapter. The previous chapter on Diane didn't get much in the way of reviews. I suspect that there are only a limited number of us out there who like Diane or want Jack to end up with her. So like it or not, here's the last chapter. Please let me know what you think. _

**The Debriefing**

**The Future**

The next six weeks passed in a swirling, merry-go-round of excitement for Diane. She went into work on Monday morning and turned in her resignation, telling her boss that she would stay on until her house was sold or until the end of the summer, which ever came first. (She and Jack had decided that they wanted Derek to be enrolled in school in LA for the fall term, so they would have to move before the end of the summer regardless of whether or not her house was sold.) Then she put her house on the market and started making plans to move.

To Diane's surprise, Jack officially proposed the next weekend after chivalrously asking Derek for her hand in marriage. Her hand shook as he placed the diamond engagement ring on her finger and she cried as he kissed her. It was all so loving and so fairy tale-like that she couldn't believe that it was happening to her. She wanted to elope, but Jack wouldn't hear of it. Diane had never had a real wedding before and Jack wanted her to have one. When she protested, he insisted that it would just be a small affair with family and their closest friends, but he wanted her to have a wedding. Diane was amused by this romantic side of Jack that she had never seen before and she found herself loving him more every day.

It didn't take long for Jack and Diane to find a house that they were both happy with. Jack would have liked something just a little bit bigger, but it was only a couple of miles from Kim's house and Diane fell in love with it from the moment she first saw it. That was enough for Jack.

Jack and Diane were married in late August in a quiet ceremony performed by a judge whom Jack had known for years. Kim and Derek stood as the honor attendants for their parents. The ceremony was followed by a luncheon for a handful of family and friends. Both of them were happier than they had been in years as they drove north along Highway 1 to spend the first seven days of their marriage exploring the California coast and each other. They were staying in Santa Barbara where Jack had rented the bridal suite at an exclusive bed and breakfast. Their cottage sat not far off the water and, while Jack checked in, Diane watched the early evening sun glinting playfully off the surf.

She took a deep breath. This was it. She belonged to Jack now, mind, heart and soul. And, in just a little while, body as well. They hadn't had much time alone in the previous six weeks, so it hadn't been hard to resist the temptations that they had nearly succumbed to on the sofa in Diane's family room what seemed like a lifetime ago. Diane had never been nervous about being with a man before, but Jack was different. She suspected that his brand of love was somehow different, more sophisticated than her previous lovers and that he would expect more of her. It scared the hell out of her that she might just disappoint him.

The thought left her head as she saw Jack returning with the key in hand. "It's the last cottage at the end of the street," he told her as he handed her the key and kissed her. "Then I'll have you all to myself," he whispered seductively.

Diane said nothing in return but could feel her knees weaken and a breathy sigh escape from her between her lips as she slipped back into the car and Jack closed the door. They drove the half mile to the cottage and Jack parked the car in front of it.

"Stay here," Jack said as he took the key from her hand and began to get out of the car. "I'll take the luggage in and then I'll be back for you."

Diane laughed. "Jack I can get out of the car and walk in without any help."

Jack shook his head in mock seriousness. "Oh, no, you can't. I need to carry you over the threshold. It's a time honored tradition, Diane. You could completely screw up our changes for a good marriage if you walk through that door on your own."

"Jack, you'll hurt your knee again. You just got cleared to go back to work next week. How will it look if you injure it again on your honeymoon?"

Jack laughed. "I'd milk that one for all it was worth. Every guy in the department would want to know what we did on our honeymoon. The rumor mill would be grinding in high gear. That's the kind of stuff office pools are made of. I bet even Curtis would want a piece of that action and you know how quiet he usually is."

Jack closed the car door and hauled their bags out of the trunk. Diane waited obediently for Jack to come back for her. She watched as he opened the door and went inside. Moments later he emerged. He had already taken off his jacket and was opening his tie and the top button on his shirt as he walked toward her. Jack opened the car door and wordlessly extended his hand to her. Diane took his hand and got out of the car grateful that he planned to carry her over the threshold because she wasn't so sure her legs, which currently felt a little like jelly, could make the trip.

They walked hand in hand until they reached the brick paved sidewalk that led to the cottage's tiny front porch. It was there that Jack stopped and smiled at her. "You ready?"

Diane couldn't help but smile as she nodded and locked her arms around his neck. In seconds she felt her feet leaving the ground. Jack cradled her in his arms and carried her with great ceremony through the doorway. Once inside, he kissed her and set her down. In the same motion he closed and locked the door, symbolically signaling the start of the rest of their lives together. As he turned back, Jack gathered Diane in his arms once again and began kissing her. The kisses were long and slow, softly infiltrated by passionate moans. Jack lowered his mouth onto Diane's neck. She loved the sensation and her desire for him was growing by the second.

"Why don't you open the champagne and I'll go put on something more comfortable," she suggested. Her voice was warm and seductive. She noticed that Jack's kisses suddenly became firmer and wetter.

"Sounds wonderful," he breathed between kisses. "I could help you undress," he offered. "You can't reach all of those buttons by yourself."

Jack had been eying up those buttons for hours now. Diane wore an ivory colored silk dress with a column of pearl buttons that ran down her back from neck to waist. Jack first noticed them when he placed his hand gently on the small of her back to lead her into the restaurant for the luncheon after the wedding. Having barely touched her in weeks, he immediately imaged himself opening each tiny button and kissing his way down her spine. After that he would push the dress to the floor. The fantasy ended there as the maitre d' approached, led them to their private dining room and asked if they would like anything from the bar.

The fantasy was back and it could finally proceed uninterrupted. He turned Diane around and slowly opened each button, placing warm, wet kisses along her spine just as he had planned. Diane seemed to enjoy it at first, but as he got further down her back, he noticed that she tensed up.

"You don't like that?" he asked assuming that he had hit a ticklish spot or a place that she didn't like to be touched.

"It feels wonderful," she said quietly trying to allay his fears.

Jack had made a career out of reading people's emotions and gauging the truth in their words and he knew that Diane was lying to him. He turned her around to face him, his face clouded with concern. "Whoa, whoa, no it doesn't 'feel wonderful'. I could hear it in your voice. What's wrong, baby? If I did something you didn't like, please tell me. That's the only way I'm going to learn what you do like."

Diane tried to breathe normally but found that she was suddenly so nervous that she couldn't maintain a steady, constant rate. Her lip trembled as she tried to find the right words. "I guess, uh, I guess I'm just a little nervous."

She tried to pull away but Jack wouldn't let her and drew her back in against his body. He tenderly kissed her forehead. "You're nervous about us? About tonight?" The revelation surprised him. He had never imagined that she might be nervous. Certainly neither of them was a teenager or a virgin. They had both done this before, just not with each other.

Tears filled Diane's eyes as she finally allowed herself to voice her deepest fear. "I've never been with a man like you before," she said cryptically.

"I'm pretty much like every other guy, Diane. We all come equipped with the same parts," Jack said with a smile as he tried to lighten the moment.

"I don't mean that," she whispered wanting desperately to pull away from him but unable to easily slip from Jack's embrace. "Jack, you're more educated and more sophisticated and classier than anyone I've ever been with."

"And you think my idea of sex is different than other men?" he queried her, still not fully comprehending her concern.

"I just want to be able to please you, Jack," Diane gasped in an exasperated whisper.

Jack finally understood. He pulled her closer and she rested her head on his shoulder. He could feel her tears soaking through his shirt and dampening his skin. "Baby, tonight isn't about you pleasing me. It's about us. It's about learning each other's likes and dislikes. It's about learning what buttons to press and which ones turn us on the most. First times are always awkward if you really love the person you're with, but it should be beautiful, too. Honey, I'm so excited right now that anything you do it going to take me to another planet. I just want to be with you. The fact that you've agreed to be with me, that you've chosen to be my wife, those things please me. Everything else is secondary. I love you, Diane, and I believe that you love me. The rest will work itself out."

They stood holding each other for a long moment before Diane lifted her head from Jack's shoulder. "I love you so much," she whispered, having composed herself enough to speak. "Why don't we try this again? You open the champagne and I'll go change."

Jack loosened his grip and Diane turned and walked toward the bedroom. Jack watched the sexy sway of her hips and smiled. He wondered what her "something more comfortable" looked like. At this point, he was so aroused that it really didn't matter, but, given the choice, he had lingerie preferences. Unlike most men, who liked their women as scantily clothed as possible, Jack liked lingerie that left more to the imagination. He liked long, full nightgowns in dark colors. There was something about getting them both tangled up in yards of satiny material that turned him on. It must have had something to do with all the frantic pulling and tugging and rolling around necessary to get them untangled that he liked. Skimpy little nighties or camisoles and panties that were off in a matter of seconds weren't any fun.

Diane slipped into the bedroom and stepped out of her mostly unbuttoned dress. She was still nervous and could feel herself shaking but felt somewhat better after what Jack just said. She hung up the dress and continued to strip and finally opened her suitcase to consider the possibilities. She had received a couple of pieces of rather skimpy lingerie from friends who had a small bridal shower for her before she moved to LA. She picked each one up and held it in front of her but ended up putting them both back and deciding on a deep plum, full length gown with a halter neckline that Kim had given her. It seemed so much more modest and as nervous as she was, she didn't feel like strutting around like a whore. This looked more sophisticated.

Diane put on the nightgown and looked into the mirror. She was pleased with what she saw. She rarely felt really good about her reflection, but tonight she knew that she looked good. The style and color of the nightgown were perfect. Her hair, now cut shorter and making the most of her curls, framed her face and diamond earrings that Jack had given her as a wedding present sparkled in the low lighting. For the first time in her life she felt beautiful and sexy and she hoped that Jack thought so, too.

Jack stood in front of the window looking out at the ocean and sipping a glass of champagne. He looked up anxiously when he heard the bedroom door open. "Wow!" he said almost inaudibly. "You look gorgeous."

Diane looked down, embarrassed by the compliment.

"Don't blush," he said with a smile and he lifted her chin so that he could kiss her lips. "This is beautiful," Jack said indicating the negligee. He was mystified that she would have known to buy his favorite style.

"Thank your daughter. It was a gift from her."

"Kim? My Kim gave it to you?"

"Last night after the rehearsal, while you and the guys were having your last round in the bar, Kim took me aside and handed me a present. She hugged me and thanked me for making you so happy and said that she hoped we'd always be happy."

"So this was like some kind of a peace offering?" he asked sarcastically.

Jack had been somewhat disappointed at Kim's reaction to Diane. She had never been unkind to Diane, she just wasn't overly friendly and had made no move to welcome her into the family. Jack didn't know why he was disappointed with Kim's reaction because, frankly, he wasn't all that surprised. This had been Kim's reaction to every woman that he had dated since Teri's death. She was cool to all of them and treated them like outsiders. Kate Warner had gotten the closest to her, but Jack attributed that to the fact that Kim was still young and in need of a mother and Kate graciously filled that role whenever necessary. Later, when he started dating Audrey, Kim grudgingly acknowledged their relationship but largely ignored Audrey. The same had been true with Diane at first but now it seemed that maybe Kim was coming around.

"Jack, stop! It's not a peace offering. I think it's Kim's way of telling us that she's okay with our marriage. I'm not going to tell you that she's happy about it, but she's okay with it. Kim's been through a lot in her life. I think once things settle down for her for a few years, she'll be fine. And if not, I'm sure we can manage to peacefully coexist."

Jack kissed her deeply. "You're really special. Do you know that?"

"Why thank you, sir," Diane replied with a slight laugh. "Now, where is my champagne?"

Jack handed her a glass. They touched the champagne flutes in a silent toast and both drank. It was a good, dry champagne and Diane let the bubbles swirl around her tongue and finally down her throat. She loved the sensation and she smiled.

"You're smiling," Jack observed.

Diane took the champagne flute from Jack's hand. "I'll carry these if you'll bring that," she said indicating the tall stand holding the champagne bottle and ice.

Jack picked up the stand with one hand and steadied it with the other. "After you," he replied as he followed Diane into the bedroom again watching the sexy sway of her hips and, this time, barely suppressing a groan.

Within minutes the two were, as Jack had hoped, rolling on the king-size bed tangled in yards of plum colored satin. They were kissing and laughing and, for the first time in her life, Diane understood the meaning of the word "foreplay". Eventually, all of their clothes, including the negligee, were on the floor and just about every inch of their two bodies had been kissed or caressed at some point. Diane found herself sandwiched happily between Jack's body and the satin bed sheets.

He slowly, carefully began to enter her, easing himself in and watching Diane's expression. Her head was back and her eyes were closed. Her face held an expression of serene ecstasy and Jack knew that he was pressing all the right buttons. He closed his eyes and initiated a slow rhythm which Diane immediately matched; their hipbones and pelvises colliding with each slow thrust.

Jack opened his eyes again to gaze upon his wife. Her expression had only slightly changed, but now she was biting her lip to maintain control. Jack began kissing her face and whispering to her.

"Tell me what you want, baby," he hissed into her ear.

"Oh God, Jack! More," she whispered in return.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you," he said feigning sudden deafness.

She spoke a little louder this time. "More," she begged breathlessly.

"Like that?" he asked as he increased the speed and intensity.

"Oh, yes," she responded.

Jack noticed that she again bit her lower lip. He kissed her. "No, baby," he panted. "Let it go. Let yourself lose control. Tell me what you want. I need to hear you," he directed her pushing her closer and closer to an edge that had somehow eluded her so many times in the past.

"Oh, Jack! Don't stop!" she begged.

Jack again picked up the pace and Diane finally groaned out loud.

"That's it, baby! Let yourself go!" he encouraged her right before he reached that point beyond which he could no longer form words that made any sense. He cried out loudly in deep, guttural tones; his cries now matched by Diane's. The air around them was filled with the sounds of their passion, their fulfillment. Jack slid his arms around Diane's back and pulled her to him. They were both gasping, hearts racing, neither could speak. As soon as they got their breath back, they found each other's mouth and kissed frantically. Having finally joined as one, neither was ready to let this session of lovemaking end.

It was hours before Jack and Diane snuggled silently beneath the covers. Exhausted, Jack drifted immediately off to sleep. Diane was equally tired, but her mind was too full to allow her to sleep. The day had been perfect and the last few hours had been, if it were possible, beyond perfect. Jack had told her that night on her sofa that he wanted to make her scream. She thought he was being melodramatic and just saying that to turn her on. She had no idea that he could actually do it.

Her life was suddenly a fairy tale. She was Cinderella at the ball and Jack was her Prince Charming. She thought she lost him when he first returned to CTU, but he came back to find her, glass slipper in hand. He had taken her back to his castle and now all that was left was to live happily ever after and as she settled against him and closed her eyes, that was what she intended to do.

**18 months later:**

Jack sat in the conference room with Bill and Curtis discussing plans for a disaster drill that was to take place later in the week.

"The plan looks solid," Bill said. "I'm impressed with the level of detail."

"Now let's just hope it goes off without a hitch," Curtis agreed with a wry smile. He stood up. "Bill, I'm not trying to rush you, but I have paperwork about a foot high on my desk. I really need to get back upstairs."

Bill nodded. "We're finished here unless you have anything to add, Jack."

Jack shook his head. "I think we're all set."

"Good," Bill answered. "Then I'll see you two next week."

Curtis left the room and Bill and Jack both started to gather their papers and stand.

"Jack," Bill said as they neared the door. "If rumors are to be believed, then congratulations are in order." He extended his hand across the table toward Jack.

Jack smiled an embarrassed smile as the two shook hands. "Thanks."

"How is Diane feeling?" Bill asked.

"The first trimester was rough, but she's doing well now. Thanks for asking."

Bill smiled at him. He liked Jack and was glad to see that his life was finally going in a positive direction for a change. "You look happy," Bill told him.

Jack nodded. "We're both thrilled. We talked about having a family before we ever got married, it seemed like a good time to do something about it. We knew that Diane would graduate this semester, so we kind of planned it so that the baby would be due in the spring. So far everything had worked out well."

"I'm happy for you. Give Diane my best." Bill paused for a moment. "Will I get to see you two at the Christmas party?"

"Yeah, we'll be there. Are you going? Why don't you plan to sit with us? There's room at the table. Curtis and his girlfriend will be there and I think Chloe is bringing someone. That's always good for a few laughs, so there's plenty of room. Are you bringing a date?"

Bill looked around not quite meeting Jack's eye. "That's part of what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Your date?" Jack asked not sure what Bill was getting at.

"I don't want this to be awkward, Jack, so I thought I'd talk to you about it ahead of time." Bill paused for a moment not sure what to say next. "Jack, I've been seeing Audrey for the last few months."

"Audrey? Audrey Raines?"

"Yes and I'm concerned that it might be uncomfortable for you if we come to the party together."

"Bill, why would it be uncomfortable? Audrey and I parted on good terms. We couldn't make a go of our relationship and we both knew it. I adore Audrey, but I don't think our relationship would have lasted very long."

Bill looked relieved. "So this won't bother you? Audrey has never talked about your relationship or how or why it ended. I didn't know what to expect. I knew that she had a hard time dealing with the realities of your job so I just assumed that she was the one who broke it off. I didn't know if you were still angry."

"I'm happy that you two are together. Audrey's a wonderful person."

Now Bill looked embarrassed. "It took me a long time to get up the courage to ask her out. I'm glad I did. The last six months have been great."

Jack's phone rang interrupting the conversation. Bill could tell by Jack's response that it was Chloe and she was having one of her daily crises. Bill missed running CTU, but he didn't miss having to deal with Chloe. Jack hung up and returned his cell phone to his pocket. "Bill, I've got to go."

"A Chloe moment?" Bill asked already knowing the answer.

"You got it. Diane and I will see you guys on Saturday," Jack said as he started to walk away.

By the time Jack and Diane arrived at the party Saturday evening, it was in full swing. Curtis stood at a table near the back of the ballroom. He waved to get Jack's attention. Jack waved back to acknowledge and he and Diane wound their way through the crowd to the table. Jack knew most of the people there and they stopped repeatedly to talk.

"Could Curtis have found a table a little further away?" Diane asked Jack with a smile.

Jack returned her smile. "Once a field agent, always a field agent," he told her.

"What?" Diane asked.

"It's simple. He picked a table in the back near a corner and not far from an emergency exit. It provides maximum protection, maximum visibility and quick exit."

"What does he think is going to happen?"

"Nothing. I would have picked the same table. It's just a habit that's hard to break," Jack explained. "It's the same reason that every agent in here is armed. I don't think anything will happen; I just feel naked without a gun."

Diane shrugged her shoulders. "You guys are a strange breed," she said as she leaned into him playfully.

They finally reached the table and began exchanging greetings all around.

"Diane, you know everyone, don't you?" Jack asked.

"I think so," she agreed.

"Diane!" Bill was approaching from the side after a trip to the bar. "Congratulations! You look wonderful," he told her as he hugged and kissed her.

Audrey, who had been a few steps behind him, reached the table seconds later. She saw Jack first. "Jack, how are you?" she asked as she hugged him. "Congratulations, I know how happy you must be."

"Thank you," Jack returned. "Diane, do you remember Audrey?"

Diane looked surprised to see her, but recovered quickly. "Of course. Audrey, it's good to see you," she said as she extended her hand.

"Bill's right," Audrey agreed. "You look great. When is the baby due?"

Everyone else at the table started laughing while Bill and Audrey tried to figure out what was so funny.

Curtis spoke first. "Apparently you two are the only people on the planet who haven't heard yet!"

"Heard what?" Bill asked.

Jack looked at the tip of his shoe trying to keep from laughing. "It's not one baby; it's two," he said as a huge smile erupted. "And I guess I've been a little over zealous about telling everyone."

"It would have been easier if we would have just emailed it to CTU, Division and District as an emergency bulletin," Chloe said with her characteristic pout. "That way we wouldn't have had to listen to Jack telling the story 400 times!"

"I'm excited," Jack said defensively. "Am I expected to keep this to myself?"

"No, Jack," Curtis told him, "but you probably didn't have to tell the guy who was delivering the new printers."

"Jack, how many people did you tell?" Diane asked him.

"Alright, I got carried away. I probably told a few more people than absolutely necessary. Okay? I admit it. Are you all happy?"

"I just talked to you last Monday, Jack," Bill said. "You didn't tell me."

"We didn't know until Wednesday when we had an ultrasound," Jack explained.

"I can't believe you didn't hear it over at Division," Chloe said shaking her head. "I thought there was a CIA-wide announcement."

"Well, if there was, I missed it," Bill said smiling. "So, congratulations again."

"If you are all finished making my life miserable," Jack said in mock seriousness, "I'm going to go get a drink." He turned to Diane. "What would you like, Sweetheart?"

Diane rolled her eyes and put her hand on her stomach. "Oh, the possibilities are endless. Let's see, there's ginger ale or tomato juice or maybe sparkling water. Should I have a twist of lime with that or maybe lemon would be better," she said sarcastically. "It's such a touch decision; I guess I'll go with you so I can mull it over on the way." Diane put her evening bag on her chair and linked her arm through Jack's.

As they walked toward the bar, Jack noticed that Diane was suddenly quiet. She had been so chatty and charming at the table that the sudden change in disposition caught him by surprise.

"You aren't angry that I've told everyone about the babies, are you?" he asked.

"No, not at all," she said smiling at him. "I'm happy that you're so excited about it."

"Good," he said patting her hand, but he noticed that her smile had quickly disappeared.

"Are Bill and Audrey a couple, or did they just join up for this party?" Diane asked.

"Apparently they're a couple. I didn't know until Monday when Bill told me that they were dating."

"Is it serious?"

"I don't know. Bill said they've been dating for about six months. Kind of sounds serious to me."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Diane asked as they approached the bar.

Jack shrugged. "I didn't think it was important."

Diane could feel an ugly little streak of jealousy forcing its way out through her every pore and hard as she tried she couldn't suppress it. "Oh, you didn't think it was important for me to know that we were having dinner with your gorgeous, and might I add," she said looking down at her expanding waistline, "thin, ex-girlfriend."

Jack's eyes widened in surprise. "Diane, I hope you're not jealous, because I haven't looked at another woman, including Audrey Raines since that day I came to your house and proposed."

They had just reached the bar. Jack cut his comments short and turned to the bartender. "Bourbon and Branch, please. Honey, what are you having?"

"Just a ginger ale," she told the bartender.

They waited while he poured their drinks. Jack dropped a tip into a strategically placed brandy snifter and they started back toward the table. Jack resumed his comments as if he hadn't been interrupted. "If Audrey and I had wanted to continue our relationship, we could have. I didn't want to and, frankly, neither did she. I love you, Diane. You don't need to be jealous of Audrey."

Diane stopped walking for a moment in an empty alcove near the bar. She closed her eyes and put a hand to her forehead. She knew that she couldn't afford to cry now but her emotions were getting the better of her. "I know, Jack. I'm being stupid, but she's so pretty and so sophisticated and I can't help but think you'd be happier with her."

"Diane, are you kidding me? Nothing could be further from the truth. The last 18 months have been a dream come true. Now we're having a family. That's all I want from life. I want you and our children and a lifetime together. Don't let her make you feel inferior, Diane, because you're not. You're beautiful, you're intelligent. If I'm not mistaken, next week you're going to graduate _with honors._ I seem to remember that the school where you did your student teaching has made you a nice offer to work with the children in the reading program until the babies are born. They wouldn't have done that if you weren't great at what you do. It's a hassle for them to take you on in that capacity knowing that at any time you could have to go out on medical leave. Sweetheart, you should be proud of yourself," he told her emphatically as he kissed her forehead. "I certainly am."

Diane smiled weakly at him. "Thanks," she said without sounding convinced.

"Jack Bauer!" a voice called from behind. "How the hell are you? I haven't seen you in ages."

Jack turned and smiled broadly. He extended his hand but ended up in a bear hug with a much taller man, probably ten years his senior, bearing a shock of white hair. "Good to see you, Roy." Jack turned to greet the tall, good looking woman next to the man. "Nicki, you look great," he said to her as he hugged and kissed her.

"So do you," she returned.

"I heard a rumor that there was a new Mrs. Bauer," Roy said. "I just had not idea that she would be this beautiful." Roy extended his hand to Diane as she blushed. "I also had no idea that she would be so pregnant. Congratulations," he added.

"Diane, this is Roy Alderman and his wife Nicki. Roy was my commanding officer when I was on the SWAT team. Now he does all of the weapons training for the CIA on the west coast."

"Speaking of which, if you want to keep your advanced weapons certification, you need to come in and test," Roy reminded him.

"Those days are over, Roy," Jack told him. "I only need basic certification now. Christopher Henderson took care of that when he screwed up my knee."

"I heard about that, but I didn't think it was serious."

"Neither did I, and I didn't need surgery, but whatever happened to the ligaments effects my running. I can't pass the physical for field ops any more. So now, I manage operations from CTU or a staging ground depending on the situation. It works out okay. I've got a good group of guys who know how to handle themselves in the field."

"I, for one, am glad to hear it, Jack," Nicki told him. "It's time for you to settle down." Nicki turned to Diane, "Marriage and impending fatherhood have done wonders for Jack. He looks better than I've seen him in years. You've obviously been a wonderful influence on him. Keep up the good work." The older woman patted Diane's arm.

Diane, now even more embarrassed, smiled and thanked Nicki Alderman. She and Jack promised to talk to them later and each couple headed back to their table for dinner. Jack held the chair for Diane as she sat down next to Audrey.

"You never did tell me when the babies are due," Audrey reminded her as they picked up their forks to start eating their salads.

Diane smiled, suddenly happy to answer Audrey's questions. She could feel Jack's hand reassuringly resting on her leg. She remembered his loving comments and the unsolicited ones by Roy and Nicki Alderman. Audrey had nothing on her. She was the one carrying Jack's children and she was the one he came home to every day. She never doubted his love or his fidelity. Any feelings of inferiority vanished like snow in the warm sunshine. For Diane, the sun was very warm and it had been shining on her for a while now but she hadn't taken the time to notice it. Now that she noticed it, she liked it and she liked herself and she loved Jack and their family. And that was all that mattered.


End file.
